List of countries by Human Development Index - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World map indicating the categories of Human Development Index by country (based on 2019 data, published on 15 December 2020).
  Very high
  High
  Medium
  Low
  Data unavailable

World map indicating the Human Development Index (based on 2019 data, published on 15 December 2020).
  ≥ 0.900
  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

This is a list of all countries by Human Development Index as included in a United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report (released on 15 December 2020), put together based on estimates for 2019. It covers 187 member states of the United Nations (out of 193), along with Hong Kong (of the People's Republic of China), and the Palestinian territories; 6 UN member states are not included because there is not enough data. The average HDI of regions of the World and groups of countries are also included for comparison.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard way of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an under-developed country, and also to measure the effect of economic policies on quality of life. The index was developed in 1990 by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq[1] and Indian economist Amartya Sen.[2]

Countries fall into four wide human development categories: Very High Human Development (66 countries), High Human Development (53 countries), Medium Human Development (37 countries) and Low Human Development (36 countries).

From 2007 to 2010, the first two categories was referred to as developed countries, and the last two are all grouped in developing countries. The original "high human development" category has been split into two as above in the report for 2007.

Some older groupings (high/medium/low income countries) that have been removed were based on the gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita, and have been replaced by another index based on the gross national income (GNI) in purchasing power parity per capita.

Complete list of countries[change | change source]

  • Increase = increase.
  • Steady = steady.
  • Decrease = decrease.
Rank Country or Territory HDI
2019 data (2020 report)​[3] Change over 5 years (2014)​[3] 2019 data (2020 report)​[3] Average change per year (2010-2019)​[4]
Very high human development
1 Steady  Norway 0.957 Increase 0.20%
2 Increase (7)  Ireland 0.955 Increase 0.65%
2 Steady   Switzerland 0.955 Increase 0.16%
4 Increase (7)  Hong Kong 0.949 Increase 0.54%
4 Increase (4)  Iceland 0.949 Increase 0.62%
6 Decrease (3)  Germany 0.947 Increase 0.24%
7 Decrease (3)  Sweden 0.945 Increase 0.41%
8 Decrease (2)  Australia 0.944 Increase 0.17%
8 Decrease (1)  Netherlands 0.944 Increase 0.32%
10 Decrease (6)  Denmark 0.940 Increase 0.28%
11 Decrease (2)  Finland 0.938 Increase 0.26%
11 Steady  Singapore 0.938 Increase 0.35%
13 Steady  United Kingdom 0.932 Increase 0.24%
14 Increase (1)  Belgium 0.931 Increase 0.25%
14 Increase (3)  New Zealand 0.931 Increase 0.30%
16 Decrease (1)  Canada 0.929 Increase 0.34%
17 Decrease (3)  United States 0.926 Increase 0.12%
18 Steady  Austria 0.922 Increase 0.22%
19 Increase (1)  Israel 0.919 Increase 0.29%
19 Increase (2)  Japan 0.919 Increase 0.39%
19 Steady  Liechtenstein 0.919 Increase 0.18%
22 Increase (2)  Slovenia 0.917 Increase 0.35%
23 Decrease (1)  South Korea 0.916 Increase 0.33%
23 Steady  Luxembourg 0.916 Increase 0.22%
25 Increase (1)  Spain 0.904 Increase 0.40%
26 Decrease (1)  France 0.901 Increase 0.28%
27 Decrease (1)  Czechia 0.900 Increase 0.38%
28 Increase (2)  Malta 0.895 Increase 0.54%
29 Increase (2)  Estonia 0.892 Increase 0.51%
29 Decrease (1)  Italy 0.892 Increase 0.16%
31 Increase (6)  United Arab Emirates 0.890 Increase 0.91%
32 Decrease (3)  Greece 0.888 Increase 0.29%
33 Steady  Cyprus 0.887 Increase 0.40%
34 Steady  Lithuania 0.882 Increase 0.66%
35 Steady  Poland 0.880 Increase 0.52%
36 Decrease (4)  Andorra 0.868 Increase 0.40%
37 Increase (3)  Latvia 0.866 Increase 0.55%
38 Decrease (1)  Portugal 0.864 Increase 0.46%
39 Decrease (2)  Slovakia 0.860 Increase 0.38%
40 Increase (1)  Hungary 0.854 Increase 0.30%
40 Decrease (4)  Saudi Arabia 0.854 Increase 0.60%
42 Increase (6)  Bahrain 0.852 Increase 0.70%
43 Steady  Chile 0.851 Increase 0.65%
43 Increase (2)  Croatia 0.851 Increase 0.48%
45 Steady  Qatar 0.848 Increase 0.19%
46 Decrease (2)  Argentina 0.845 Increase 0.21%
47 Decrease (6)  Brunei 0.838 Increase 0.15%
48 Increase (2)  Montenegro 0.829 Increase 0.37%
49 Increase (2)  Romania 0.828 Increase 0.31%
50 Decrease (3)  Palau 0.826 Increase 0.55%
51 Increase (7)  Kazakhstan 0.825 Increase 0.86%
52 Increase (1)  Russia 0.824 Increase 0.60%
53 Decrease (4)  Belarus 0.823 Increase 0.39%
54 Increase (5)  Turkey 0.820 Increase 1.16%
55 Increase (1)  Uruguay 0.817 Increase 0.49%
56 Decrease (2)  Bulgaria 0.816 Increase 0.39%
57 Increase (5)  Panama 0.815 Increase 0.58%
58 Decrease (3)  Bahamas 0.814 Increase 0.12%
58 Decrease (6)  Barbados 0.814 Increase 0.23%
60 Decrease (3)  Oman 0.813 Increase 0.43%
61 Increase (7)  Georgia 0.812 Increase 0.87%
62 Decrease (3)  Costa Rica 0.810 Increase 0.64%
62 Increase (1)  Malaysia 0.810 Increase 0.54%
64 Decrease (5)  Kuwait 0.806 Increase 0.25%
64 Increase (3)  Serbia 0.806 Increase 0.57%
66 Decrease (2)  Mauritius 0.804 Increase 0.76%
High human development
67 Increase (2)  Seychelles 0.796 Increase 0.46%
67 Decrease (1)  Trinidad and Tobago 0.796 Increase 0.17%
69 Decrease (4)  Albania 0.795 Increase 0.72%
70 Increase (5)  Cuba 0.783 Increase 0.03%
70 Increase (1)  Iran 0.783 Increase 0.60%
72 Steady  Sri Lanka 0.782 Increase 0.41%
73 Increase (8)  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.780 Increase 0.88%
74 Increase (2)  Grenada 0.779 Increase 0.36%
74 Increase (4)  Mexico 0.779 Increase 0.45%
74 Steady  Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.779 Increase 0.48%
74 Decrease (1)  Ukraine 0.779 Increase 0.35%
78 Increase (1)  Antigua and Barbuda 0.778 Increase 0.22%
79 Steady  Peru 0.777 Increase 0.83%
79 Increase (8)  Thailand 0.777 Increase 0.79%
81 Decrease (4)  Armenia 0.776 Increase 0.42%
82 Increase (2)  North Macedonia 0.774 Increase 0.46%
83 Increase (2)  Colombia 0.767 Increase 0.57%
84 Decrease (2)  Brazil 0.765 Increase 0.57%
85 Increase (12)  China 0.761 Increase 0.95%
86 Decrease (4)  Ecuador 0.759 Increase 0.50%
86 Increase (6)  Saint Lucia 0.759 Increase 0.43%
88 Increase (1)  Azerbaijan 0.756 Increase 0.45%
88 Increase (10)  Dominican Republic 0.756 Increase 0.76%
90 Steady  Moldova 0.750 Increase 0.56%
91 Steady  Algeria 0.748 Increase 0.41%
92 Decrease (6)  Lebanon 0.744 Decrease 0.32%
93 Increase (1)  Fiji 0.743 Increase 0.43%
94 Decrease (6)  Dominica 0.742 Increase 0.03%
95 Increase (8)  Maldives 0.740 Increase 0.86%
95 Increase (7)  Tunisia 0.740 Increase 0.37%
97 Decrease (3)  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.738 Increase 0.31%
97 Decrease (5)  Suriname 0.738 Increase 0.43%
99 Decrease (3)  Mongolia 0.737 Increase 0.64%
100 Increase (5)  Botswana 0.735 Increase 1.15%
101 Decrease (2)  Jamaica 0.734 Increase 0.03%
102 Decrease (3)  Jordan 0.729 Decrease 0.12%
103 Increase (1)  Paraguay 0.728 Increase 0.50%
104 Increase (2)  Tonga 0.725 Increase 0.41%
105 Decrease (4)  Libya 0.724 Decrease 1.08%
106 Increase (4)  Uzbekistan 0.720 Increase 0.82%
107 Increase (6)  Bolivia 0.718 Increase 0.82%
107 Increase (6)  Indonesia 0.718 Increase 0.86%
107 Increase (3)  Philippines 0.718 Increase 0.76%
110 Decrease (3)  Belize 0.716 Increase 0.33%
111 Decrease (3)  Samoa 0.715 Increase 0.27%
111 Increase (4)  Turkmenistan 0.715 Increase 0.79%
113 Decrease (44)  Venezuela 0.711 Decrease 0.69%
114 Decrease (2)  South Africa 0.709 Increase 0.73%
115 Decrease (6)  Palestine 0.708 Increase 0.38%
116 Increase (1)  Egypt 0.707 Increase 0.63%
117 NA[a]  Marshall Islands 0.704 NA[5]
117 Increase (1)  Vietnam 0.704 Increase 0.70%
119 Steady  Gabon 0.703 Increase 0.84%
Medium human development
120 Decrease (4)  Kyrgyzstan 0.697 Increase 0.57%
121 Increase (2)  Morocco 0.686 Increase 1.20%
122 Decrease (2)  Guyana 0.682 Increase 0.55%
123 Increase (4)  Iraq 0.674 Increase 0.65%
124 Decrease (3)  El Salvador 0.673 Increase 0.08%
125 Decrease (2)  Tajikistan 0.668 Increase 0.51%
126 Decrease (4)  Cape Verde 0.665 Increase 0.57%
127 Decrease (1)  Guatemala 0.663 Increase 1.00%
128 Decrease (3)  Nicaragua 0.660 Increase 0.66%
129 Increase (1)  Bhutan 0.654 Increase 1.46%
130 Decrease (2)  Namibia 0.646 Increase 1.03%
131 Increase (1)  India 0.645 Increase 1.21%
132 Steady  Honduras 0.634 Increase 0.43%
133 Increase (8)  Bangladesh 0.632 Increase 1.41%
134 Decrease (3)  Kiribati 0.630 Increase 0.67%
135 Increase (1)  Sao Tome and Principe 0.625 Increase 1.21%
136 Decrease (2)  Micronesia 0.620 Increase 0.35%
137 Increase (1)  Laos 0.613 Increase 1.17%
138 Increase (5)  Eswatini 0.611 Increase 2.03%
138 Decrease (1)  Ghana 0.611 Increase 0.87%
140 Decrease (5)  Vanuatu 0.609 Increase 0.35%
141 Decrease (12)  East Timor 0.606 Decrease 0.40%
142 Steady    Nepal 0.602 Increase 1.28%
143 Decrease (3)  Kenya 0.601 Increase 0.97%
144 Steady  Cambodia 0.594 Increase 1.09%
145 Decrease (6)  Equatorial Guinea 0.592 Increase 0.30%
146 Steady  Zambia 0.584 Increase 1.15%
147 Increase (3)  Myanmar 0.583 Increase 1.39%
148 Decrease (4)  Angola 0.581 Increase 1.31%
149 Decrease (2)  Congo, Republic of the 0.574 Increase 1.10%
150 Increase (1)  Zimbabwe 0.571 Increase 1.90%
151 Decrease (3)  Solomon Islands 0.567 Increase 0.61%
151 Decrease (2)  Syria 0.567 Decrease 1.87%
153 Increase (1)  Cameroon 0.563 Increase 1.22%
154 Increase (2)  Pakistan 0.557 Increase 0.94%
155 Decrease (2)  Papua New Guinea 0.555 Increase 0.68%
156 Decrease (4)  Comoros 0.554 Increase 0.68%
Low human development
157 Decrease (2)  Mauritania 0.546 Increase 0.87%
158 Decrease (1)  Benin 0.545 Increase 1.10%
159 Increase (2)  Uganda 0.544 Increase 0.99%
160 Decrease (1)  Rwanda 0.543 Increase 1.10%
161 Decrease (3)  Nigeria 0.539 Increase 1.25%
162 Increase (7)  Ivory Coast 0.538 Increase 1.56%
163 Decrease (1)  Tanzania 0.529 Increase 1.06%
164 Decrease (4)  Madagascar 0.528 Increase 0.36%
165 Increase (2)  Lesotho 0.527 Increase 1.52%
166 Increase (3)  Djibouti 0.524 Increase 1.61%
167 Increase (1)  Togo 0.515 Increase 1.12%
168 Decrease (3)  Senegal 0.512 Increase 1.00%
169 Decrease (5)  Afghanistan 0.511 Increase 0.89%
170 Decrease (1)  Haiti 0.510 Increase 0.89%
170 Decrease (5)  Sudan 0.510 Increase 0.94%
172 Increase (1)  Gambia 0.496 Increase 0.87%
173 Increase (5)  Ethiopia 0.485 Increase 1.58%
174 Steady  Malawi 0.483 Increase 1.27%
175 Steady  Congo, Democratic Republic of the 0.480 Increase 1.10%
175 Increase (1)  Guinea-Bissau 0.480 Increase 1.07%
175 Decrease (3)  Liberia 0.480 Increase 0.60%
178 Increase (1)  Guinea 0.477 Increase 1.53%
179 Decrease (16)  Yemen 0.470 Decrease 0.82%
180 Decrease (3)  Eritrea 0.459 Increase 0.57%
181 Increase (2)  Mozambique 0.456 Increase 1.44%
182 Increase (3)  Burkina Faso 0.452 Increase 1.83%
182 Decrease (2)  Sierra Leone 0.452 Increase 1.40%
184 Steady  Mali 0.434 Increase 0.69%
185 Decrease (5)  Burundi 0.433 Increase 0.58%
185 Decrease (3)  South Sudan 0.433 Increase 0.61%
187 Decrease (1)  Chad 0.398 Increase 0.84%
188 Decrease (1)  Central African Republic 0.397 Increase 0.94%
189 Decrease (1)  Niger 0.394 Increase 1.95%

List of countries by continent[change | change source]

Africa[change | change source]

See the main article: List of African countries by Human Development Index

Asia[change | change source]

See the main article: List of countries in Asia and Oceania by Human Development Index

Europe[change | change source]

See the main article: List of European countries by Human Development Index

North America and the Caribbean[change | change source]

Oceania[change | change source]

See the main article: List of countries in Asia and Oceania by Human Development Index
Rank Country HDI
New 2020 estimates for 2019
Very high human development
1  Australia 0.944
2  New Zealand 0.931
3  Palau 0.826
High human development
4  Fiji 0.743
5  Tonga 0.725
6  Samoa 0.715
7  Marshall Islands 0.704
Medium human development
8  Kiribati 0.630
9  Micronesia 0.620
10  Vanuatu 0.609
11  Solomon Islands 0.567
12  Papua New Guinea 0.555

South America[change | change source]

See the main article: List of Latin American countries by Human Development Index
Rank Country HDI
New 2020 estimates for 2019
Very high human development
1  Chile 0.851
2  Argentina 0.845
3  Uruguay 0.817
High human development
4  Peru 0.777
5  Colombia 0.767
6  Brazil 0.765
7  Ecuador 0.759
8  Suriname 0.738
9  Paraguay 0.728
10  Bolivia 0.718
11  Venezuela 0.711
Medium human development
12  Guyana 0.682

List of countries by intercontinental region[change | change source]

Arab League[change | change source]

Commonwealth of Nations[change | change source]

East Asia and the Pacific[change | change source]

European Union[change | change source]

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation[change | change source]