Human Development Index (HDI) – country rankings

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A ranking of the world’s most developed countries using the latest Human Development Index (HDI) from the UN Development Programme.

map of the human development index
Human Development Index (Public Domain)

Used by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to measure a country’s development, the Human Development Index (HDI) is an index assessing three key dimensions of human development:

1. A long and healthy life measured by life expectancy.

2. Access to education measured by expected years of schooling of children at school-entry age and mean years of schooling of the adult population.

3. A decent standard of living measured by Gross National Income per capita adjusted for the price level of the country.

The HDI was created to shift the assessment of human development away from economic growth alone. The HDI puts emphasis on people and their capabilities, as opposed to their economic situation alone.

Thirty years ago, UNDP created a new way to conceive and measure progress. Instead of using growth in GDP as the sole measure of development, we ranked the world’s countries by their human development: by whether people in each country have the freedom and opportunity to live the lives they value.

– United Nations Development Programme

10 least & most developed countries

Most developed

  1. Norway
  2. Ireland
  3. Switzerland
  4. Hong Kong, China (SAR)
  5. Iceland
  6. Germany
  7. Sweden
  8. Australia
  9. Netherlands
  10. Denmark

Human Development Index (HDI) – complete ranking

The table below ranks the world’s countries by their HDI score – the mean of the normalized indices for each of the three key dimensions listed above.

Some countries and territories may have been omitted due to insufficient data.

Very High Human Development

RANKCOUNTRYHDI
1Norway0.96
2Ireland0.96
2Switzerland0.96
4Hong Kong, China (SAR)0.95
4Iceland0.95
6Germany0.95
7Sweden0.95
8Australia0.94
8Netherlands0.94
10Denmark0.94
11Finland0.94
11Singapore0.94
13UK0.93
14Belgium0.93
14New Zealand0.93
16Canada0.93
17USA0.93
18Austria0.92
19Israel0.92
19Japan0.92
19Liechtenstein0.92
22Slovenia0.92
23South Korea0.92
23Luxembourg0.92
25Spain0.90
26France0.90
27Czech Rep.0.90
28Malta0.90
29Estonia0.89
29Italy0.89
31UAE0.89
32Greece0.89
33Cyprus0.89
34Lithuania0.88
35Poland0.88
36Andorra0.87
37Latvia0.87
38Portugal0.86
39Slovakia0.86
40Hungary0.85
40Saudi Arabia0.85
42Bahrain0.85
43Chile0.85
43Croatia0.85
45Qatar0.85
46Argentina0.85
47Brunei0.84
48Montenegro0.83
49Romania0.83
50Palau0.83
51Kazakhstan0.83
52Russia0.82
53Belarus0.82
54Turkey0.82
55Uruguay0.82
56Bulgaria0.82
57Panama0.82
58Bahamas0.81
58Barbados0.81
60Oman0.81
61Georgia0.81
62Costa Rica0.81
62Malaysia0.81
64Kuwait0.81
64Serbia0.81
66Mauritius0.80

High Human Development

67Seychelles0.80
67Trinidad & Tobago0.80
69Albania0.80
70Cuba0.78
70Iran0.78
72Sri Lanka0.78
73Bosnia & Herz.0.78
74Grenada0.78
74Mexico0.78
74St. Kitts & Nevis0.78
74Ukraine0.78
78Antigua & Barbuda0.78
79Peru0.78
79Thailand0.78
81Armenia0.78
82North Macedonia0.77
83Colombia0.77
84Brazil0.77
85China0.76
86Ecuador0.76
86St.Lucia0.76
88Azerbaijan0.76
88Dominican Rep.0.76
90Moldova0.75
91Algeria0.75
92Lebanon0.74
93Fiji0.74
94Dominica0.74
95Maldives0.74
95Tunisia0.74
97St. Vincent & Gren.0.74
97Suriname0.74
99Mongolia0.74
100Botswana0.74
101Jamaica0.73
102Jordan0.73
103Paraguay0.73
104Tonga0.73
105Libya0.72
106Uzbekistan0.72
107Bolivia0.72
107Indonesia0.72
107Philippines0.72
110Belize0.72
111Samoa0.72
111Turkmenistan0.72
113Venezuela0.71
114South Africa0.71
115Palestine Territories0.71
116Egypt0.71
117Marshall Islands0.70
117Vietnam0.70
119Gabon0.70

Medium Human Development

120Kyrgyzstan0.70
121Morocco0.69
122Guyana0.68
123Iraq0.67
124El Salvador0.67
125Tajikistan0.67
126Cabo Verde0.67
127Guatemala0.66
128Nicaragua0.66
129Bhutan0.65
130Namibia0.65
131India0.65
132Honduras0.63
133Bangladesh0.63
134Kiribati0.63
135Sao Tome & Principe0.63
136Micronesia0.62
137Laos0.61
138Eswatini0.61
138Ghana0.61
140Vanuatu0.61
141Timor-Leste0.61
142Nepal0.60
143Kenya0.60
144Cambodia0.59
145Equatorial Guinea0.59
146Zambia0.58
147Myanmar0.58
148Angola0.58
149Congo0.57
150Zimbabwe0.57
151Solomon Islands0.57
151Syria0.57
153Cameroon0.56
154Pakistan0.56
155Papua New Guinea0.56
156Comoros0.55

Low Human Development

157Mauritania0.55
158Benin0.55
159Uganda0.54
160Rwanda0.54
161Nigeria0.54
162Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)0.54
163Tanzania0.53
164Madagascar0.53
165Lesotho0.53
166Djibouti0.52
167Togo0.52
168Senegal0.51
169Afghanistan0.51
170Haiti0.51
170Sudan0.51
172Gambia0.50
173Ethiopia0.49
174Malawi0.48
175DR Congo0.48
175Guinea-Bissau0.48
175Liberia0.48
178Guinea0.48
179Yemen0.47
180Eritrea0.46
181Mozambique0.46
182Burkina Faso0.45
182Sierra Leone0.45
184Mali0.43
185Burundi0.43
185South Sudan0.43
187Chad0.40
188Central African Republic0.40
189Niger0.39

The following countries or territories have been omitted due to insufficient data.

Source: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)