Human Development Report 2025: Vietnam is among the high achievers

Ms. Ramla Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, speaking. (Photo: Viet Duc/VNA)

On the afternoon of May 12, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam launched the Human Development Report (HDR) 2025 of UNDP in Vietnam with the theme "The era of Artificial Intelligence and human development choices."

The report analyzes human development progress based on the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures achievements in health,education and income. According to the report, Vietnam's HDI in 2023 reached 0.766 - placing Vietnam in the group of countries with high human development - ranked 93rd out of 193 countries and territories.

From 1990 to 2023, Vietnam's HDI increased from 0.499 to 0.766, an increase of 53.5%, showing impressive progress. This year's Human Development Report shows that global human development progress is stagnating at an unprecedented level.

The report also shows that artificial intelligence (AI) could become a new driver of development. Instead of a steady recovery from the severe crisis of 2020-2021, the report shows that current progress is much weaker than expected. Excluding the two years of the COVID-19 crisis, the global growth in human development forecast in this year's report is the lowest since 1990.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Ramla Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, informed that the Human Development Report 2025 clearly stated: The impact of AI on human well-being is not predetermined. Thereby, the United Nations calls on governments and societies to consciously shape AI so that AI serves humans, not the other way around.

For Vietnam, Ms. Ramla Khalidi emphasized, the challenge is real and urgent because Vietnam's digital transformation is taking place rapidly; the country's development vision is very high. Artificial intelligence is currently the focus of national discussions about Vietnam's future.

Ms. Ramla Khalidi said that although Vietnam's HDI index is on average high in the world , human development in regions, areas, and population groups is still uneven, and the gap with the top HDI countries in the ASEAN region has not been narrowed much.

In this context, AI can help narrow these gaps but can also widen them. Ms. Ramla Khalidi emphasized that Vietnam needs to act immediately to avoid falling into that gap. She also said that the decisions on the AI ​​vision of the Party and State of Vietnam such as Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, dated December 22, 2024 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation; Decision No. 127/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister promulgating the National Strategy on research, development and application of artificial intelligence to 2030 not only create a legal framework for Vietnam to apply new technology tools but also build AI capacity in its own way.

UNDP highly appreciates Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s call to train 100,000 semiconductor and AI engineers. In the call, the Prime Minister emphasized that AI must be safe, ethical and inclusive.

The leader of UNDP in Vietnam affirmed that this organization will support Vietnam in implementing the goals of the national strategy on AI, ensuring that AI becomes a force for equity, sustainability and human progress in Vietnam and around the world. At the event, scientists, policy makers, technology experts, businesses and delegates discussed how AI can become a driving force for human development, in line with Vietnam's sustainable development goals and national digital transformation strategy.

Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/9/172672/bao-cao-phat-trien-con-nguoi-2025-viet-nam-thuoc-nhom-quoc-gia-dat-muc-cao