RP's 84th

PHILIPPINES RANKED 84TH IN 2005 UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
The Philippines has been ranked 84th out of the 177 countries in the United Nations' Human Development Report (UN HDR), a notch lower from its 83rd ranking in 2004.
The Philippines' ranking places it within the medium development bracket alongside other Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Western Samoa, China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Dr. Arsenio Balisacan, president of the Human Development Network, said the results are "very disappointing." "We expect improvement. We have all the basic ingredients but somehow we can't put them altogether," Balisacan told reporters.
The HDR 2005, which uses 2003 data, is released annually by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
It measures a country's broader development performance using the Human Development Index that covers not only income but also life expectancy, education and literacy.
Balisacan said the country has been stuck in its bracket unlike neighboring countries who have done well in advancing through development.
Neighboring countries' Malaysia and Thailand continue to be higher than the Philippines at 61 and 73, respectively, with Western Samoa overtaking it at 74, while China is closing in right behind at 85.
China, Asia's economic powerhouse, made a big leap from 94 last year.
Timor Leste, which was the only Asian country in the low development bracket last year moved to the medium development bracket this year at rank 140 from 158 last year.
Vietnam and Indonesia still trail the Philippines at 108 and 110, respectively.
"At the end of the day, it's governance, it's leadership that should be blamed for the results," Balisacan said.
"What we should do is to put together all potential resources that we have, get them to work and solidify them," he added.
The top five countries with the best standards of living are Norway, Iceland, Australia, Luxembourg and Canada while the bottom five are African nations Chad, Mali (174), Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Niger.
Japan is the only Asian country included in the top 20. It ranks 11th.