A steady expansion in health and education services allied with high income to catapult the UAE to the number one Arab nation in a human development index released by the United Nations for 2010.

The report, issued this week, ranked the UAE 32nd among world nations in the human development index (HDI), the only developing country to achieve that advanced position among more than 165 states included in the report.

The report, which measures nations’ achievements in health, education and other fields, classified the UAE within the “Very high human development” category on part with such advanced countries as the United States, Norway, Britain, France, Germany, Denmark and other industrial nations.

The index includes six subcategories namely life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, gross national income (GNI) per capita, GNI per capita minus HDI rank, and national income HDI value.

It put life expectancy in the UAE at 77.7 years and its mean and expected years of schooling at 9.2 and 11.5 years respectively. The country’s GNI per capita was put at $58,005, fourth only to Liechtenstein, Qatar and Norway.

Norway topped the HDI, followed by Australia, New Zealand, United States, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, France, Israel, Finland, Iceland, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Hong Kong, Greece, Italy Luxembourg, Austria, Britain, Singapore, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Andorra and Slovakia.

The remaining nations classified among the “very high human development” category are Malta, Estonia, Cyprus, Hungary, Brunei Darussalam, Qatar, Bahrain, Portugal, Poland and Barbados.

“The UAE’s accomplishment in this respect is a result of the sound policy and strategy adopted by the leadership…this strategy is based on pinpointing resources and needs and on clear planning of goals and ambitions, taking into consideration regional and global changes,” Minister of foreign trade Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi said in a comment on the UNDP report.

“This advanced rank actually reflects the substantial economic, social and security progress achieved by the country….this progress has played a crucial role in attracting world capital that turned the UAE into a global business and investment hub….human development will remain the main pillar for the country’s strategy in overall development.”

Another UAE official said the UAE’s advanced rank in the UNDP report was a result of its concentration on human development as part of its sustained efforts towards economic restructuring and comprehensive development.

“In its overall development process, the UAE has given priority to health and education without compromising its national identity,” said Mohammed Abdullah, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.

Abdullah disclosed plans to release Abu Dhabi’s first development report in collaboration with the UNDP, adding that this report would “constitute a vital source of data for decision making bodies in the country.”