Indonesia's life expectancy has climbed but education levels have fallen in the past year, in aggregate allowing the country to inch forward in the latest United Nations Human Development Index.
In 2012 edition of the annual report, launched in Mexico City on Thursday, Indonesia climbed three places to 121 out of 187 countries and territories.
Indonesia scored 0.629 on the index, which uses various indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income to calculate a score between 0 and 1. Indonesia remained below the world average of 0.694 and the East Asia and Pacific regional average of 0.683.
The index classes Indonesia as a "Medium Human Development" country and documented improvements in most categories from last year. Among them was a rise in life expectancy to 69.8 years from 69.4 years.
But Indonesians older than 25 only received 5.8 years of education on average, indicating no significant change in the past three years despite the government earmarking one-fifth of its annual state budget for education.
For children of school-entering age, the expected years of education dipped to 12.9 years from 13.2 years. The weak education result comes as the country reshuffles its curriculum, reducing the roles of science and English.
Indonesia's overall improvement follows a dramatic drop in 2011, when it fell to 124th place from 108th a year earlier. The country has failed to match the long-term progress of comparable countries in the region, such as China.
In 1980, when the United Nations Development Program launched the index, China came below Indonesia, but it has since risen rapidly.
The report noted that Indonesia is one of 40 developing countries that have made greater human development gains in recent decades than would have been predicted. These achievements, it says, are largely attributable to sustained investment in education, health care and social programs.
Within the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Indonesia sits above only Vietnam, at 127th, and Laos and Cambodia, tied at 138.
Singapore ranked 18th in the index, while Brunei was 30th and Malaysia 64th. Norway came first with a score 0.955 while Niger and Congo shared last place at 186, with a score of 0.304.