• Agenda
  • Initiatives
  • Reports
  • Events
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership and Governance
    • Our Members and Partners
    • Communities
    • History
    • Klaus Schwab
    • Media
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • World Economic Forum USA
    • Privacy and Terms of Use
  • EN ES FR 日本語 中文
  • Login to TopLink

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our updated Cookie Notice.

I accept
    Hamburger
  • World Economic Forum Logo
  • Agenda
  • Initiatives
  • Reports
  • Events
  • About
  • TopLink
  • Search Cancel

Report Home

  • Data Explorer
  • Shareable Infographics
  • User’s Guide
  • [ — Divider — ]
  • Preface
  • Key Findings
  • Global Human Capital Report 2017
    • Underlying concepts
    • Subindexes
    • Index Construction
    • Results
    • Results by Region
      • East Asia and the Pacific
      • Eastern Europe and Central Asia
      • Latin America and the Caribbean
      • Middle East and North Africa
      • North America
      • South Asia
      • Sub-Saharan Africa
      • Western Europe
      • Box 1: G20
      • Box 2: European Union
    • Results by Income Group
    • Results by Subindex
    • Thematic Analysis
      • Capacity
      • Deployment
      • Development
      • Know-how
    • Conclusion
    • References
    • Appendices
      • A: Regional and Income Group Classifications, 2017
      • B: Technical Notes
  • Download full publication as PDF
  • Press Release
  • Blog and opinion
  • [ — Divider — ]
  • System Initiative
  • System Initiative Partners
  • About the authors
  • Acknowledgements
  • Related Forum reports and activities
Human Capital Report 2017 Home
  • Report Home
  • Data Explorer
  • Shareable Infographics
  • User’s Guide
  • [ — Divider — ]
  • Preface
  • Key Findings
  • Global Human Capital Report 2017
    • Underlying concepts
    • Subindexes
    • Index Construction
    • Results
    • Results by Region
      • East Asia and the Pacific
      • Eastern Europe and Central Asia
      • Latin America and the Caribbean
      • Middle East and North Africa
      • North America
      • South Asia
      • Sub-Saharan Africa
      • Western Europe
      • Box 1: G20
      • Box 2: European Union
    • Results by Income Group
    • Results by Subindex
    • Thematic Analysis
      • Capacity
      • Deployment
      • Development
      • Know-how
    • Conclusion
    • References
    • Appendices
      • A: Regional and Income Group Classifications, 2017
      • B: Technical Notes
  • Download full publication as PDF
  • Press Release
  • Blog and opinion
  • [ — Divider — ]
  • System Initiative
  • System Initiative Partners
  • About the authors
  • Acknowledgements
  • Related Forum reports and activities

South Asia

Share

The Index covers five countries from the South Asia region: Sri Lanka (70), Nepal (98), India (103), Bangladesh (111) and Pakistan (125). The overall average score for the region is 54.10—behind the Middle East and North Africa and ahead of Sub-Saharan Africa—and all but the region’s top-ranked country have yet to reach the 60% threshold with regard to developing their human capital.

The bright spot for the region, Sri Lanka (70), benefits from strong educational enrolment rates as well as comparatively positive perceptions of the quality of its primary schools and education system overall, essential elements for building the nation’s future human capital. However, it underperforms when it comes to translating the potential of its young generation to the workplace, with more than one in five 15–24 year-olds currently unemployed.

India (103) ranks at the top of the bottom quartile of the Index. Although the country’s current educational attainment rate has improved markedly over past generations, its youth literacy rate is still only 89%, well behind the rates of other leading emerging markets as well as the lower-middle income group’s average. India also ranks poorly on labour force participation, due in part to one of the world’s largest employment gender gaps. More positively, it receives solid rankings on education quality, staff training and economic complexity—suggesting that a primary avenue for realizing a greater share of the nation’s human capital potential consists in creating a virtuous cycle by increasing inclusivity and expanding access to its numerous learning and employment opportunities.

The human capital potential of the region’s two other most populous countries—Bangladesh (111) and Pakistan (125)—is held back by insufficient educational enrolment rates and poor-quality primary schools. Both countries’ educational performance is somewhat better at the tertiary level, despite rather low levels of skill diversity among their university graduates, indicating a strong specialization in a limited number of academic subjects. Both also exhibit significant employment gender gaps.

Back to Top
Subscribe for updates
A weekly update of what’s on the Global Agenda
Follow Us
About
Our Mission
Leadership and Governance
Our Members and Partners
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Communities
History
Klaus Schwab
Our Impact
Media
Pictures
A Global Platform for Geostrategic Collaboration
Careers
Open Forum
Contact Us
Mapping Global Transformations
Code of Conduct
World Economic Forum LLC
Sustainability
World Economic Forum Privacy Policy
Media
News
Accreditation
Subscribe to our news
Members & Partners
Member login to TopLink
Strategic Partners' area
Partner Institutes' area
Global sites
Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Open Forum
Global Shapers
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
EN ES FR 日本語 中文
© 2022 World Economic Forum
Privacy Policy & Terms of Service