The HDI is a summary measure for evaluating long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.
In the period between 2005 and 2014, the value of the HDI for Montenegro has increased from 0.750 to 0.802, which is an increase of seven percent, or an average annual growth of about 0.75 percent. However, when the value of the HDI for Montenegro is reduced for inequality, it falls to 0.728, – which is a loss of 9.2 percent due to inequality alone.
The value of the HDI for Montenegro is below the average of 0.896 of other countries in the group of very high human development, but above the average of 0.748 for countries in Europe and Central Asia.
In Europe and Central Asia, countries that are similar to Montenegro in HDI rank in 2014, and to some extent, in terms of population, are Latvia and Lithuania, which are ranked 46th and 37th, respectively. Montenegro is ranked higher than some EU countries, such as Romania, which is at the 52nd place and Bulgaria at 59th place.
When it comes to the Western Balkans, Montenegro is third-ranked, after Slovenia (25th) and Croatia (47th).
Life expectancy in Montenegro continues to extend, reaching 76.2 years, but is still below the level recorded in countries of high human development (80.5 years). Expected years of schooling is 15.2 years, while the average length of schooling (11.2) is close to the results of other countries that belong to the same category (11.8).
While GDP per capita is increasing in Montenegro, it is still significantly lower than in other countries of the same category.
Human development report for the first time contains gender data for Montenegro: Gender Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Inequality Index (GII).
GDI is a gender dimension in HDI and it measures inequality in achievements in three dimensions of human development: health, education and management of economic resources.
HDI for women in Montenegro amounted to 0.782 versus the value of 0.819 for men, resulting in a GDI value of 0.954.
In practical terms, although women in Montenegro live longer than men, they still record slightly weaker results in the average years of schooling (10.5 versus 11.8 for men) and significantly lower GDI than men (11,106 versus 18,094 among men).
As a parallel measure, the GII explores the inequalities in three dimensions – reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity. GII value for Montenegro is 0.171, making it the country ranked 37th among 155 countries in 2014.
In Montenegro, only 17.3 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women, and 84.2 percent of adult women have acquired at least secondary education, compared to 94.7% of men who have completed high school. For every 100.000 live births, seven women die from complications of pregnancy, while the rate of adolescent births is 15.2 births per 1.000 women aged 15-19 years. Participation of women in the labor market was 43.0 percent compared to 57.3 percent for men.
