THE world’s poorest countries are getting poorer as the rich get richer, the United Nations Development Programme said on Wednesday.

Achim Steiner, head of the agency, said that after two decades during which rich and poor countries were coming closer in terms of development, the finding is “a very strong warning signal” that nations are now drifting apart.

The Human Development Index that the agency has produced since 1990 is projected to reach record highs in 2023 after steep declines during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

But development in half of the world’s poorest countries remains below 2019 pre-pandemic levels, the report said.

“It’s a rich person’s versus a poor person’s world in which we are seeing development unfolding in very unequal, partially incomplete ways,” Mr Steiner said at a news conference. 

He said there has to be a careful look “at where inequality has become so extreme that it actually erodes the political willingness to co-operate.”

Mr Steiner said that the world’s nations should be joining forces to focus on major threats in the 21st century, especially climate change, the next pandemic and the emergence of a digital economy and artificial intelligence. 

Mr Steiner said: “You will not stop climate change with missiles. You will not stop the next pandemic at your border with a tank, and you're certainly not going to stop cybercrime with missiles.”

The report calls for more spending on global public goods that benefit all people, including to stabilise climate and the planet.

Based on the latest figures from 2022, the highest human development scores are held by Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

The countries with the lowest human development were Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Yemen.