HONG KONG, April 3 (Xinhua)-- China's Human Development Index (HDI) ranks 85th among 177 countries, rising up by 20 percent, according to a report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) released here Monday.

    The UNDP and the Chinese University of Hong Kong coorganized a seminar here Monday on the report, which names "China Human Development Report 2005".

    The report analyzed China's income and wealth distribution, employment opportunities, social security, and public expenditure.It said that China has made remarkable progress in social and human development since its reform and opening up.

    According to the report, China's HDI in 2003 was 0.755, ranking85th among 177 countries, which represents a medium level of humandevelopment. China's ranking has risen up by 20 percent since 1990,the biggest progress ever, largely due to income growth.

    However, the report also argued that China still faces many challenges despite such progress. Statistics at the macro level cannot disguise the gaps in development between regions, urban andrural areas, genders and social groups. To due with these problemsas well as promote equal human development in China, the report makes some policy recommendations in the end.

    Lu Mai, secretary-general of China Development Research Foundation, Renaud Meyer, deputy resident representative of UNDP China, and Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh, director of Center for Peace andHuman Security, introduced the background, content, recommendations and global significance of the report.

    The report was commissioned by UNDP China and coordinated by the China Development Research Foundation. It was written by 13 eminent scholars and experts. Enditem