SOCIAL SECTOR INVESTMENT PROGRAMME
26
SUSTAINING GROWTH, SECURING PROSPERITY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This Chapter provides a summary of the social
progress made in Trinidad and Tobago for fiscal
2013. It highlights accomplishments by the
Government of the Republic of Trinidad and
Tobago in the area of social development and
also examines the investments made in human
resource development, as the GoRTT continues
tomove towards fulfilling the targets set for 2015,
as articulated in the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
According to the Human Development Report
(HDR) 2013, Trinidad and Tobago received a
HDI
21
score of 0.760, positioning the country at
67 out of 187 countries, andmaintaining it status
in the high human development category. This
score is also above the average of 0.758 for the
high human development group and above the
average of 0.741 for countries in Latin America
and the Caribbean. A further review of Trinidad
andTobago’s progress shows that between 1980
and 2012, the country’s HDI value increased
from0.86 to0.760,which represents an increase
of 12% or an average annual increase of about
3%
22
.
Turning to the Gender Inequality Index
(GII) 2012, which examines gender-based
inequalities in three dimensions: reproductive
health, empowerment, and economic activity
23
,
21 The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term
progress in three basic dimensions of human development:
a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent
standard of living. .
22
23 Reproductive health is measured by maternal mortality
Trinidad and Tobago attained a GII value of 0.311,
ranking it 50 out of 148 countries. In Trinidad
and Tobago, 27.4% of parliamentary seats are
held by women, and 59.4% of adult women have
reached a secondary or higher level of education
compared to 59.2% of their male counterparts.
For every 100,000 live births, 46women die from
pregnancy related causes; and the adolescent
fertility rate is 31.6 births per 1000 live births.
Female participation in the labour market is
54.9% compared to 78.3 for men.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
was introduced in 2010. This index identifies
multiple deprivations in the same households in
education, health and standard of living. Using
themost recent survey data (2006) available for
estimating MPI figures for Trinidad and Tobago,
5.6% of the population lived in multidimensional
poverty (the MPI ‘head count’), while an
additional 0.4% was vulnerable to multiple
deprivations. Trinidad and Tobago’s MPI value
24
was 0.02.
The Global Gender Gap Report quantifies
the magnitude and scope of gender-based
disparities and tracks progress over-time. The
index benchmarks national gender gaps on
economics, politics, education and health. In
the GGG Report 2012, Trinidad and Tobago
and adolescent fertility rates; empowerment is measured
by the share of parliamentary seats held by each gender
and attainment at secondary and higher education by each
gender; and economic activity is measured by the labour
market participation rate for each gender. The GII replaced
the previous Gender-related Development Index and Gender
Empowerment Index. The GII shows the loss in human
development due to inequality between female and male
achievements in the three GII dimensions.
24 This MPI values reflects the share of the population that is
multi-dimensionally poor adjusted by the intensity of the
deprivations.
CHAPTER 3:
THE NATIONAL SOCIAL SITUATION
