Mumbai: India, which is on a solid track of high economic expansion with nine per cent annual growth of gross domestic product (GDP), is ranked 17 among 23 economies based on a measure of people''s economic well-being.

China, the bigger emerging economic power and India''s neighbour also doesn''t fare much better either with a rank just two slots above at 15.

A person living in China spends an average of only 11,502 HK dollar (Rs59, 369) per year, while an Indian consumes an average of 9,346 HK dollar (Rs48,240) per year.

Hong Kong (125,303 HK dollar per capita), Taipei (109,108 HK dollar), Singapore (99,706 HK dollar), Brunei Darussalam (81,744HK dollar) and Macao (67,639 HK dollar ) top the list while Nepal , Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam are at the bottom.

According to a preliminary report of an international comparison programme (ICP) of Asia Pacific''s purchasing power parity, China and India account for 64 per cent of total real GDP of the 23 economies assessed in the study. But this does not mean much for the masses, going by an ADB study.

If the size of these economies is adjusted by population, China and India drop down to 10th and 18th positions respectively in the full GDP comparison, the study says.

Similarly, on a comparison based on ''actual final consumption of households'' (AFCH), a better measure of economic well-being of the population, China and India rank 15th and 17 th, respectively, the study points out.

AFCH is a measure of actual household consumption, including what they purchase and what they are supplied with by the government (principally education and health).

Education and healthcare are lagging seriously behind as India and other South Asian economies take off, the ADB report said.

Despite the rapid economic growth of recent years, its quality of education and healthcare remains worse than all other parts of the world except sub-Saharan Africa, ADB said.

"Clearly, rapid economic growth alone will not take care of human development in the region," said Juan Miranda, head of the Philippines-based lender''s Central and West Asia department in the report, adding, "Successfully tackling these challenges requires strategic choices in crucial policy areas."

The report warned that the region''s competitiveness could be undermined unless governments address the growing mismatches.

The region remains on a solid track of high economic expansion led by India, but changing educational and health needs must be met if it is to remain an engine of economic growth, the South Asia Economic Report said.