For the first time since 1871, the Irish population now exceeds four million and the CSO projects that it will rise to five million people over the next 15 years. According to the United Nations (UN) Human Development Index 2004, Ireland ranks among the top ten countries across a range of socio-economic indicators including life expectancy, education, literacy and adjusted real income. In 2004, Ireland recorded the third highest GDP per capita in the world. Between 1999 and 2004, unemployment rates decreased from 5.5 per cent to 4.4 per cent. Ireland performs less well, however, across a range of social indicators. For example, even though the rate of consistent poverty fell from 15 per cent to 5 per cent between 1994 and 2001, Ireland is still ranked sixteenth out of the seventeen countries reviewed in the Index. In addition, Irish people with an illness or disability, households headed by a retired person, people living alone, people living in rural areas and women are at a greater risk of poverty than the general population.