Developed Country - Human Development Index (HDI)

Human Development Index (HDI)

The UN HDI is a statistical measure that gauges a country's level of human development. While there is a strong correlation between having a high HDI score and a prosperous economy, the UN points out that the HDI accounts for more than income or productivity. Unlike GDP per capita or per capita income, the HDI takes into account how income is turned "into education and health opportunities and therefore into higher levels of human development."

Since 1990, Norway (2001–2006, 2009–2011), Japan (1990–91 and 1993), Canada (1992 and 1994–2000) and Iceland (2007–08) have had the highest HDI score. The top 47 countries have scores ranging from 0.793 in Barbados to 0.943 in Norway.

Many countries listed by IMF or CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009), possess an HDI over 0.788 (as of 2010). Many countries possessing an HDI of 0.788 and over (as of 2010), are also listed by IMF or CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009). Thus, many "advanced economies" (as of 2009) are characterized by an HDI score of 0.9 or higher (as of 2007).

The latest index was released on 2 November 2011 and covers the period up to 2011. The following are the 47 countries in the top quartile and classified as possessing a "Very high human development".

Rank Country HDI



1 Norway 0.943 0.002
2 Australia 0.929 0.002
3 Netherlands 0.910 0.001
4 United States 0.910 0.002
5 New Zealand 0.908
6 Canada 0.908 0.001
7 Ireland 0.908 0.001
8 Liechtenstein 0.905 0.001
9 Germany 0.905 0.002
10 Sweden 0.904 0.003
11 Switzerland 0.903 0.002
12 Japan 0.901 0.002
13 Hong Kong 0.898 0.004
14 Iceland 0.898 0.002
15 South Korea 0.897 0.003
16 Denmark 0.895 0.002
17 Israel 0.888 0.002
18 Belgium 0.886 0.001
19 Austria 0.885 0.002
20 France 0.884 0.001
21 Slovenia 0.884 0.002
22 Finland 0.882 0.002
23 Spain 0.878 0.002
24 Italy 0.874 0.001
Rank Country HDI



25 Luxembourg 0.867 0.002
26 Singapore 0.866 0.002
27 Czech Republic 0.865 0.002
28 United Kingdom 0.863 0.001
29 Greece 0.861 0.001
30 United Arab Emirates 0.846 0.001
31 Cyprus 0.840 0.001
32 Andorra 0.838
33 Brunei 0.838 0.001
34 Estonia 0.835 0.003
35 Slovakia 0.834 0.002
36 Malta 0.832 0.002
37 Qatar 0.831 0.006
38 Hungary 0.816 0.002
39 Poland 0.813 0.002
40 Lithuania 0.810 0.005
41 Portugal 0.809 0.001
42 Bahrain 0.806 0.001
43 Latvia 0.805 0.003
44 Chile 0.805 0.003
45 Argentina 0.797 0.003
46 Croatia 0.796 0.002
47 Barbados 0.793 0.005

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