Updated index shows progress in Peru’s regions

Our partners–Fundación Avina, Deloitte and CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School–have spent the last few months assessing social progress in Peru’s regions, and today they released Índice de Progreso Social Regional del Perú 2017. 

This is the second time they have produced a Social Progress Index for the country’s 25 regions and the province of Lima. They have good things to report, and they also point to specific opportunities to improve the lives of 32.5 million people. Below are notable findings you can read more about in the updated index’s executive summary (Spanish) and news release.

Basic Human Needs dimension

• Since last year, the maternal mortality rate has gone down.
• Most households have access to basic utilities.
• But providing widespread access to clean water and sanitation facilities is a challenge.
• Personal safety, especially traffic deaths, remains a problem.

Foundations of Wellbeing dimension

• Primary school attendance is high, but secondary school attendance, especially in the Peruvian Amazon, is a challenge.
• The health of people under 65 is declining, with more and more deaths from non-communicable diseases.
• Internet access varies but is consistently stronger in urban areas.

Opportunity dimension

• Teen pregnancies have noticeably decreased, and the use of contraceptives has increased.
• Gender parity in higher education remains a challenge.
• Tolerance and Inclusion is the index component where most regions perform the best, but 11 out of 26 areas have declined on this component. 

Rankings

“Despite the country’s economic progress, not all regions have succeeded in improving their quality of life, suggesting that social progress depends not only on the economic factor but also on other components such as the implementation of appropriate public policies (and) resources, among other things,” the findings report stresses.

So Moquegua, Metropolit Lima, Ica and Tacna are the regions that lead in the regional ranking. While Madre de Dios, Pasco, Ucayali and Loreto score the lowest.

Index. Action. Impact.

We look forward to hearing the nation’s reaction to this updated assessment of regional quality of life, and to seeing how government, business, nonprofits and citizens work together to improve living conditions over the next year.