List of countries by Human Development Index

World map
World map representing Human Development Index categories (based on 2022 data, published in 2024)
  •   Very high (≥ 0.800)
  •   High (0.700–0.799)
  •   Medium (0.550–0.699)
  •   Low (≤ 0.549)
  •   Data unavailable
World map
World map of countries or territories by Human Development Index scores in increments of 0.050 (based on 2022 data, published in 2024)
  •   ≥ 0.950
  •   0.900–0.950
  •   0.850–0.899
  •   0.800–0.849
  •   0.750–0.799
  •   0.700–0.749
  •   0.650–0.699
  •   0.600–0.649
  •   0.550–0.599
  •   0.500–0.549
  •   0.450–0.499
  •   0.400–0.449
  •   ≤ 0.399
  •   Data unavailable

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) compiles the Human Development Index (HDI) of 193 nations in the annual Human Development Report. The index considers the health, education, income and living conditions in a given country to provide a measure of human development which is comparable between countries and over time.[1][2]

The HDI is the most widely used indicator of human development and has changed how people view the concept.[3][4] However, several aspects of the index have received criticism. Some scholars have criticized how the factors are weighed, in particular how an additional year of life expectancy is valued differently between countries;[4][5] and the limited factors it considers, noting the omission of factors such as the levels of distributional and gender inequality.[6] In response to the former, the UNDP introduced the inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) in its 2010 report, and in response to the latter the Gender Development Index (GDI) was introduced in the 1995 report.[7][8] Others have criticized the perceived oversimplification of using a single number per country.[9][10]

To reflect developmental differences within countries, a subnational HDI (SHDI) featuring data for more than 1,600 regions was introduced in 2018 by the Global Data Lab at Radboud University in the Netherlands.[10] In 2020, the UNDP introduced another index, the planetary pressures–adjusted Human Development Index (PHDI), which decreases the scores of countries with a higher ecological footprint.[11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference overview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Rank and index on pages 272-276. Change in rank and percentage growth on pages 277-280. Human Development Report 2021-22: Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. pp. 272–280. ISBN 978-9-211-26451-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  3. ^ Ivanova, I.; Arcelus, F. J.; Srinivasan, G. (February 1999). "An Assessment of the Measurement Properties of the Human Development Index". Social Indicators Research. 46 (2): 157–179. doi:10.1023/A:1006839208067. ISSN 0303-8300. JSTOR 27522364. S2CID 142628010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b Sanderson, Warren; Scherbov, Sergei; Simone, Ghislandi (8 November 2018). "The best country to live in might not be Norway after all". Quartz. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  5. ^ Ravallion, Martin (1 November 2012). "Troubling tradeoffs in the Human Development Index" (PDF). Journal of Development Economics. 99 (2): 201–209. doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2012.01.003. ISSN 0304-3878.
  6. ^ Sharma, Shalendra D. (1 February 1997). "Making the Human Development Index (HDI) gender-sensitive". Gender & Development. 5 (1): 60–61. doi:10.1080/741922304. ISSN 1355-2074. PMID 12320744. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  7. ^ Human Development Report 2010 (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 2010. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-230-28445-6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  8. ^ Human development report 1995 (PDF). Oxford University Press for the United Nations Development Programme. 1995. pp. 72–74. ISBN 0-19-510023-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  9. ^ Castles, Ian (1998). "The Mismeasure of Nations: A Review Essay". Population and Development Review. 24 (4): 834–836. doi:10.2307/2808029. ISSN 0098-7921. JSTOR 2808029. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  10. ^ a b Iñaki, Permanyer; Jeroen, Smits (31 May 2018). "The Subnational Human Development Index: Moving beyond country-level averages". United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  11. ^ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 291–231. ISBN 978-9-211-26442-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.