In India the ratio is 48, in Pakistan 52, in Bangladesh 18, in Nepal 5, in Sri Lanka 23, in Bhutan 20 and in Maldives 19. Across the region there is one nurse for every 4,078 people and one doctor for every 3,684. By contrast, there is one policeman for every 939. Thus there are four times as many policemen as nurses or doctors. The report shows that low literacy rates contribute to the social backwardness.
Women suffer the most.
For the entire region, the illiteracy rate among is 38 percent. Fifty million children in the region are not enrolled in primary education. About 35 million children in India never get any education. The authors of the report condemn the governments of the region for disregarding the need to develop education and label their policy as an obstacle to the creation of a proper social environment for a civilized life. Only 3.2 percent of GNP is spent on education.