South Asia has lost most human capital due to air pollution: World Bank

What is the news?

The latest “Changing Wealth of Nations” 2021 report published by the World Bank states that ‘South Asia’ suffers the most among all regions of the world in terms of loss of human capital due to air pollution.

The latest report has measured wealth creation and distribution in 146 countries covering a 20-year period from 1995-2018.

The World Bank included GDP, human-produced capital, human capital (as per bank,”earnings over a person’s lifetime”) and natural capital like renewable and non-renewable natural resources in its measurement of wealth.

What are the key findings of the report?

Global findings:

Human capital was the largest source of worldwide wealth, comprising 64% of total global wealth in 2018. Middle-income countries increased their investment in human capital and in turn, saw significant increases in their share of global human capital wealth.

Globally, wealth had increased during the two decades. In fact, middle-income countries were catching up fast with high-income ones in wealth generation.

Air pollution was affecting hugely this significant wealth generator ie human capital.

Natural assets- The growing prosperity has been accompanied by unsustainable management of some natural assets. Low- and middle-income countries saw their forest wealth per capita decline 8% from 1995 to 2018, reflecting significant deforestation.

Unequal wealth creation-This wealth creation, arguably the best in recent decades, has not been equal. Low-income countries’ share in global wealth is below 1%(same for decades), account for 8% of the world’s population.

The survey found that countries that depended more on natural resources were also reporting a decline in wealth due to the degradation of resources.

Declining wealth per capita– Over a third of low-income countries saw declining wealth per capita. These countries tend to be degrading their base of renewable natural assets. For low-income countries, appropriately managing renewable natural capital, which accounts for 23 per cent of their wealth, remains crucial.

South-Asia related findings:

Human capital in south Asia accounts for 50 per cent of the region’s wealth. This did not change during the survey period(1995-2018). It shows the importance of a healthy workforce.

Air pollution-South Asia as a region was the most severely affected by the estimated loss of human capital due to air pollution.

Wealth-South Asia has increased its wealth since 1995. But still, its per capita wealth is among the lowest in the world, comparable to sub-Saharan Africa due to population growth in the same period.

Gender disparity in human capital- Over 80% of the region’s wealth was attributed to men, indicating a huge gender disparity in human capital and its contribution to national wealth.

Source: This post is based on the article “South Asia has lost most human capital due to air pollution: World Bank” published in “Down To Earth” on 27th October 2021.