UNDP in the context of "Development assistance"

Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries, as well as least developed, low-income or poor countries. It is distinguished from humanitarian aid by aiming at a sustained improvement in the conditions in developing countries, as well as least-developed, poor of low-income countries, rather than short-term relief. The overarching term is foreign aid (or just aid). The amount of foreign aid is measured though official development assistance (ODA). This is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid.

Aid may be bilateral: given from one country directly to another; or it may be multilateral: given by the donor country to an international organisation such as the World Bank or the United Nations Agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, UNAIDS, etc.) which then distributes it among the developing countries. The proportion is currently about 70% bilateral 30% multilateral.

Newar (/nɪˈwɑːr/; Newar: नेवार, endonym: Newa; Newar: नेवा, Pracalit script: 𑐣𑐾𑐰𑐵𑑅‎), or Nepami, are primarily inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Newars are a distinct linguistic and cultural group, primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities, who share a common language, Nepal Bhasa, and predominantly practice Newar Hinduism and Newar Buddhism.Newars have developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilisation not seen elsewhere in the Himalayan foothills. Newars have continued their age-old traditions and practices and pride themselves as the true custodians of the religion, culture and civilisation of Nepal. Newars are known for their contributions to culture, art and literature, trade, agriculture and cuisine. Today, they consistently rank as the most economically and socially advanced community in Nepal, according to the annual Human Development Index published by UNDP. Newars are ranked the 8th largest ethnic group in Nepal according to the 2021 Nepal census numbering 1,341,363 people constituting 4.6% of the total population.

The Kathmandu Valley and surrounding territories constituted the former Newar kingdom of the Nepal Mandala. Unlike other common-origin ethnic or caste groups in Nepal, the Newars are regarded as an example of a nation community with a relict identity, derived from an ethnically diverse, previously existing polity. The Newar community within it consists of various strands of ethnic, racial, caste and religious heterogeneity, as they are the descendants of the diverse group of people that have lived in Nepal Mandala since prehistoric times. Indo-Aryan tribes like Maithils of Madhesh Province, the Licchavis, Kosala, and Mallas (N) from respective Indian Mahajanapada (i.e. Licchavis of Vajji, Kosala, and Malla (I)) that arrived at different periods eventually merged with the local native population by marriage as well as adopting their language and customs. These tribes however retained their Vedic culture and brought with them their Sanskritic languages, social structure, Hindu religion and culture, which were assimilated with local cultures and gave rise to the current Newar civilisation. Newar rule in Nepal Mandala ended with its conquest by the Gorkha Kingdom in 1768.

Irreligion, such as atheism and agnosticism, are present in Albania, along with the predominant faiths of Islam and Christianity. The majority of Albanians lead a secular life and reject religious considerations to shape or condition their way of life.

Irreligion in Albania arose after a period of rising anti-clericalism and secularisation in the context of the rising Albanian nationalism in the late Ottoman Empire. While authors in this period had at times used invective against religion, the first public advocate of abandoning religion itself was Ismet Toto in 1934 followed by works by Anastas Plasari in 1935. Beginning in 1946 under communist rule in Albania, religion was first curtailed, and then public religious practice was outlawed in 1967 with the adoption of state atheism by Enver Hoxha although some private practice survived, and remained so until restrictions were first eased in 1985 and then removed in 1990 under his successor Ramiz Alia. Polling by UNDP showed that large majorities of Albanians agree that nationalism, lack of religion and the ban of religion during communist rule have helped build the foundations of religious tolerance.

The following list shows the subnational entities and regions with the highest and lowest Human Development Index (HDI) in the world and on different continents. The HDI is a summary measure of human development that considers three dimensions: health, education, and standard of living. It is calculated by taking the geometric mean of three normalized indicators: life expectancy at birth, mean and expected years of schooling, and gross national income per capita. The HDI ranges from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating higher human development. The HDI itself was created by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990, and was further used by the UNDP to measure the country's development in its annual Human Development Reports.The index was initially calculated at the country level. The Global Data Lab at Radboud University in the Netherlands launched a subnational HDI (SHDI) in 2018, which covers around 1,800 regions in over 160 countries to better reflect the differences within countries. Global Data Lab also provides the Subnational Human the Subnational Gender Development Index (SGDI) and data on income, years of education and life expectancy on the subnational level. The SHDI and SGDI are based on the UNDP's official HDI and GDI, but they use subnational data in addition to national data.