ISLAMABAD: In the midst of the worst global slowdown in human development index (HDI) growth since 1990, Pakistan is among the 26 states with the lowest HDI score.

The latest Human Development Report, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday, ranks Pakistan at 168th, out of 193 countries, in terms of quality of life.

Pakistan and Afghanistan were the only two countries from South Asia listed in the low human development category. The remaining 24 countries were from Sub-Saharan Africa. Afghanistan was placed at 181st position, meaning that it is better off than 12 countries.

The report shows how artificialintelligence (AI) could reignite development. According to UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, the report emphasised how differences between humans and machines can create powerful complementarities that expand human potential.

`We are at a crossroads: while AI promises to redefine out future, it also risks deepening divides in a world already off balance,` Mr Steiner adds.

The report, titled The 2025 Human Development Report: A matter of choice people and possibilities in the age of Artificial Intelligence, says while the global HDI value is projected to reach a record high, the increase would be the lowest since recordsbegan 35years ago.

Gaps between very high and low HDI countries, which for decades had been shrinking, have been wid-ening over the pastfour years. The dramatic slowdown in HDI progress cuts across all developing regions, according to the report.

Focusing on people can help many countries feeling caught in a human development pinch between sky-high expectations for AI and sobering development realities, including ongoing violent conflicts and stresses on human security.

Wounds from the 20202021 decline in global HDI value have not healed, and the rebound since may be losing steam.

The report analyses progress across a range of indicators, known as the Human Development Index (HDI). The index encompasses achievements in health and education, along with levels of income.

Projections for 2024 reveal stalled progress on HDI in allregions across the world.

Inequality widens Beyond an alarming deceleration in global development, the report findswideninginequalitiesbetween rich and poor countries. As traditional paths to development are being squeezed by global pressures, decisive action is needed to move the world away from prolonged stagnation.

Instead of making sustained recovery afterthe exceptionalerisis of 2020-21, the world saw shockingly weak progress. Excluding those crisis years, the meagre rise in global human development projected in this year`s report is the lowest increase since1990.

`For decades, we had been on track to reach a very high human development world by 2030, but thisdeceleration signals a very real threat to global progress,` said Achim Steiner, the UNDP administrator.

`If 2024`s sluggish progress becomes `the new normal`, the 2030 milestone could slip by decades making our world less secure, more divided, and more vulnerable to economic and ecological shocks.

For the fourth year in a row inequality between Low HDI and Very High HDI countries continued to increase, according to the report.

This reverses a long-term trend that saw a reduction in inequalities between wealthy and poor nations.

Development challenges for countries with the lowest HDI scores are especially severe driven by increasing trade tensions, a worsening debt crisis and the rise of lowemployment industrialisation.`Amidst this global turmoil, we must urgently explore new ways to drive development,` Mr Steiner said. `As artificial intelligence continues its rapid advance across so many aspects of our lives, we should consider its potential for development. New capabilities are emerging almost daily, and while AI is no panacea, the choices we make hold the potential to reignite human development and open new pathways and possibilities.

The report outlines three critical areas for action: building an economy where people collaborate with AI rather than compete against it; embedding human agency across the full AI lifecycle, from design to deployment; and modernising education and health systems to meet demands of 21st century democratisation of AI is already underway.