According to the United Nations, Yemen ranks 168th out of 177 countries on the human development index (HDI), a measure of life expectancy, education, and standard of living. Yemen has the lowest HDI rank among the Arab states. Several welfare programs are in place, but they have generally been considered inadequate to meet the needs of Yemen’s impoverished citizens (estimated to exceed 45 percent of the total population). This program attempt to raise living standards through various community development, capacity-building, and micro-financing programs; it is difficult to obtain the necessary commercial bank credit to make these programs viable.