(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles is ranked 67th out of 189 countries in the 30th edition of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2020 Human Development Index (HDI), the second-highest score in Africa coming one rank after Mauritius.

The island nation has made huge progress in the 30 years since the first Human Development Report and the introduction of the Human Development Index, a way to measure long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

Between 2000 and 2019, Seychelles' HDI value increased from 0.714 to 0.796, an increase of 11.5 percent. Between 1990 and 2019, Seychelles' life expectancy at birth increased by 2.6 years, mean years of schooling increased by 2.6 years, the expected years of schooling increased by 2.7 years.

Seychelles' Gross National Income GNI per capita increased by about 88.5 percent between 1990 and 2019. Long and healthy life is measured by life expectancy. The knowledge level is measured by mean years of schooling among the adult population, which is the average number of years of schooling received in a life-time by people aged 25 years and older. Access to learning and knowledge was also considered. On the expected years of school, Seychelles got 14 years, only three years less than Burundi ranked 185th.

A press release from the United Nations Development Programme said the experimental global index offers a new measurement of human progress that illustrates the challenge of tackling poverty and inequality while easing planetary pressure.

According to the communique, the report lays out a stark choice for world leaders - take bold steps to reduce the immense pressure that is being exerted on the environment and the natural world, or humanity's progress will stall.

"Humans wield more power over the planet than ever before. In the wake of COVID-19, record-breaking temperatures and spiralling inequality, it is time to use that power to redefine what we mean by progress, where our carbon and consumption footprints are no longer hidden," said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.

Norway is ranked first on the index with Niger at the bottom of the list of 189 countries and UN-recognized territories. Seychelles shares its 67th rank with Trinidad and Tobago, another island nation.