THE REPUBLIC of Ireland has retained its 19th place on the UN world human development index which reflects life expectancy, education and income.
The Republic also spends less per head on defence than any country in western Europe. However, this year's UN report, due to be published today, says the Republic's continued high cost social security system reflects a "lopsided" investment in people.
The 1996 index ranks Canada, the US, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway as the top five in human development. Cyprus, Barbados and the Bahamas, which are listed curiously as "developing" countries, are the top three in this category followed by the Republic of Korea and Argentina.
Compiled by the UN Development Programme and based on statistics gathered to 1993/94, the report again emphasises that people's lives cannot be measured by income alone. It notes that the Republic has managed to maintain a global rating that is considerably better than its 23rd ranking for real per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Since 1970, the Republic has experienced steady growth in per capita GDP, but this economic expansion has revealed unbalanced links between economic performance and human development.
In 1993, Britain had an unemployment rate of 15.6 per cent, which was more than twice the average for top industrial countries, and higher than the EU average. The Republic, which was listed among the "high human development" industrial nations in the same period, had the third highest rate of unemployment.
The report notes that 6.3 per cent of total Government expenditure in 1991 covered unemployment benefits, significantly higher than the EU average of 2.9 per cent. The Republic spent the third highest percentage of total Government expenditure on unemployment benefits among reporting industrial nations.
The Republic has made "rather lopsided" investments in people, the report says. In 1993, public expenditure on health was 5.1 per cent of GDP lower than the average among the top industrial countries and the EU. In 1992, The Republic devoted 6.2 per cent of GNP to public education, just below the EU average but above that of the industrial nations and markedly higher than the US.
However, some 19.2 per cent of 1992 GDP was spent on social security benefits, well above the top industrial average (14.3 per cent) and the OECD countries (14 per cent).
Our rate of crime, based on 1993 statistics, is comparatively low. The Republic had 60 prisoners per 100,000 people in that year similar to Norway and the fourth lowest rate among reporting industrial nations.
The report also notes a "below average" suicide rate among women between 1989 and 1993, and the second lowest male suicide rate among industrial countries.
The State's relatively small spending on defence works out at $172 dollars a head.
Measured as a percentage of arms spending, Ireland spent more (18 per cent) on Official Development Assistance in 1994 than the 12 per cent average among the most developed countries.
Measured as a percentage of Gross National Product, the State's overseas aid expenditure is less than any other reporting country in Europe, and the third lowest percentage among top industrial countries.
On the environment, the Republic has the smallest amount of protected areas as a percentage of national territory (0.7 per cent), compared with 32.2 per cent for Denmark. It also has one of the poorest recycling records among top industrial countries.
