Presented virtually by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the School of Statistics of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), the study provides data on the set of human development indicators in the 82 cantons of the country, and for the first time since 2007, it includes the Multidimensional Poverty Index.
Regarding this parameter, the research reflects that in 2020 the most lagging cantons were in the border areas of the country, while by provinces, Limón presented a particular condition by locating most of its cantons above the national average.
On the opposite side is the province of Heredia, whose cantons, with the exception of Sarapiquí, appear below that average.
During the presentation of the Atlas, the resident representative of the UNDP in Costa Rica, José Vicente Troya, affirmed that it allows the design and orientation of effective public policies that respond to the particular needs of the different communities.
In this regard, he mentioned the reduction of poverty and the generation of decent employment that cannot be resolved on the basis of intuition or assumptions.
“Rather, it allows us to respond from data science and go beyond the averages that make invisible the various forms of inequality that occur at the territorial level and in the different populations of Costa Rican society,” Troya stressed.
The director of the School of Statistics of the UCR, Johnny Madrigal, pointed out that having indicators at subnational levels allows keeping track of people’s social and economic conditions, since this type of input helps to identify the challenges that must be addressed as country.
On his side, the Minister of Human Development and Social Inclusion, Juan Luis Bermúdez, affirmed that the reduction of social and economic gaps for social recovery and economic reactivation after the Covid-19 pandemic requires us to accelerate decision-making aimed at with social justice.
But, he argued, this also requires that these solutions be effective in their development results and efficient in the use of resources.
The Atlas, he asserted, is a pertinent instrument for the design and monitoring of precision and impact policies that jointly promote organized communities, local governments, the private sector and the institutional fabric.
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