Who am I

Rania El Azem

I am an economist and human development expert with 20 years of professional experience working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in various roles, starting with UNDP in the Morocco Country Office, UNDP in Libya and UNDP HQ.

My commitment and energy are towards making the connection between research, the knowledge behind it and its application towards making a difference in a community. I am a practical thought leader, connector, and adviser, led by evidence and ethics.

I have qualified at PhD level in economics, international affairs and politics from American and Belgian Universities, whilst being a wife and mother of three young children.

My success derives from striking the balance between building a family, study, and a professional career. I am someone committed to personal and professional development and to maximizing my personal characteristics of clarity, calmness, and determination.

I developed an innovative methodology that reflects inequality and generates decile data and a new index of the vast majority of the population for the three components of the human development index. The methodology serves to better understand the levels of inequality in a country, towards reducing inequalities.