Which country has the highest Human Development Index?

Iceland has the highest Human Development Index in 2023, at 0.972, followed by Switzerland (0.97) and Norway (0.97).

Which country has the lowest Human Development Index?

South Sudan has the lowest Human Development Index in 2023, at 0.388.

What is the median Human Development Index across countries?

The median is 0.762 across the 193 countries with data in 2023.

Where does this global north countries data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Global North and South - Encyclopedia.com; The Global North/South Divide - Royal Geographic Society; Global North and Global South - Wiki; Examining Ethics and Intercultural Interactions in International Relations - IGI Global.

Country rankings

Global North Countries

Name: Global North Countries
Creator: Rankodex

Iceland has the highest Human Development Index in 2023 (0.972), followed by Switzerland (0.97) and Norway (0.97). South Sudan has the lowest (0.388).

Economics196 countries · 2 metricsUpdated May 14, 2025Original page

7 sources

ShowingHuman Development IndexBetter directionWhether a higher or a lower value is better. A green arrow means higher is better, a red arrow means lower is better, and no arrow means neither.More in the glossary →

Year

193 of 235 countries

Compare this metric Add to combined ranking Open full map

Human Development Index, 2023

Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 193 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

0.762

Middle half 0.622 – 0.862

Average

0.741

193 countries

Highest

0.972

Iceland

Lowest

0.388

South Sudan

Over time · 1990–2023

The top 5 in 2023, against the median.

Median of all countries
Iceland
Switzerland
Norway
Denmark
Germany

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

196 countries · # = rank by Human Development Index

#
1	Iceland	Yes	0.972
2	Switzerland	Yes	0.97
2	Norway	Yes	0.97
4	Denmark	Yes	0.962
5	Germany	Yes	0.959
5	Sweden	Yes	0.959
7	Australia	Yes	0.958
8	Netherlands	Yes	0.955
8	Hong Kong	—	0.955
10	Belgium	Yes	0.951
11	Ireland	Yes	0.949
12	Finland	Yes	0.948
13	United Kingdom	Yes	0.946
13	Singapore	No	0.946
15	United Arab Emirates	No	0.94
16	Canada	Yes	0.939
17	United States	Yes	0.938
17	New Zealand	Yes	0.938
17	Liechtenstein	Yes	0.938
20	South Korea	Yes	0.937
21	Slovenia	Yes	0.931
22	Austria	Yes	0.93
23	Japan	Yes	0.925
24	Malta	Yes	0.924
25	Luxembourg	Yes	0.922
26	France	Yes	0.92
27	Israel	Yes	0.919
28	Spain	Yes	0.918
29	Italy	Yes	0.915
29	Czechia	Yes	0.915
29	San Marino	Yes	0.915
32	Cyprus	Yes	0.913
32	Andorra	Yes	0.913
34	Greece	Yes	0.908
35	Poland	Yes	0.906
36	Estonia	Yes	0.905
37	Saudi Arabia	No	0.9
38	Bahrain	No	0.899
39	Lithuania	Yes	0.895
40	Portugal	Yes	0.89
41	Croatia	Yes	0.889
41	Latvia	Yes	0.889
43	Qatar	No	0.886
44	Slovakia	Yes	0.88
45	Chile	No	0.878
46	Hungary	Yes	0.87
47	Argentina	No	0.865
48	Uruguay	No	0.862
48	Montenegro	Yes	0.862
50	Oman	No	0.858
51	Turkey	Yes	0.853
52	Kuwait	No	0.852
53	Antigua and Barbuda	No	0.851
54	Seychelles	No	0.848
55	Romania	Yes	0.845
55	Bulgaria	Yes	0.845
57	Georgia	Yes	0.844
58	Saint Kitts and Nevis	No	0.84
59	Panama	No	0.839
60	Kazakhstan	Yes	0.837
60	Brunei	No	0.837
62	Serbia	Yes	0.833
62	Costa Rica	No	0.833
64	Russia	Yes	0.832
65	Belarus	Yes	0.824
66	Bahamas	No	0.82
67	Malaysia	No	0.819
68	North Macedonia	Yes	0.815
69	Armenia	Yes	0.811
69	Barbados	No	0.811
71	Albania	Yes	0.81
72	Trinidad and Tobago	No	0.807
73	Mauritius	No	0.806
74	Bosnia and Herzegovina	No	0.804
75	Iran	No	0.799
76	Thailand	No	0.798
76	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	No	0.798
78	China	No	0.797
79	Peru	No	0.794
80	Grenada	No	0.791
81	Mexico	Yes	0.789
81	Azerbaijan	Yes	0.789
83	Colombia	No	0.788
84	Brazil	No	0.786
84	Palau	Yes	0.786
86	Moldova	Yes	0.785
87	Ukraine	Yes	0.779
88	Ecuador	No	0.777
89	Sri Lanka	No	0.776
89	Dominican Republic	No	0.776
89	Guyana	No	0.776
92	Tonga	No	0.769
93	Vietnam	No	0.766
93	Maldives	No	0.766
95	Turkmenistan	No	0.764
96	Algeria	No	0.763
97	Cuba	No	0.762
98	Dominica	No	0.761
99	Paraguay	No	0.756
100	Egypt	No	0.754
100	Jordan	No	0.754
102	Lebanon	No	0.752
103	Saint Lucia	No	0.748
104	Mongolia	No	0.747
105	Tunisia	No	0.746
106	South Africa	No	0.741
107	Uzbekistan	Yes	0.74
108	Bolivia	No	0.733
108	Gabon	No	0.733
108	Marshall Islands	No	0.733
111	Botswana	No	0.731
111	Fiji	No	0.731
113	Indonesia	No	0.728
114	Suriname	No	0.722
115	Libya	No	0.721
115	Belize	No	0.721
117	Philippines	No	0.72
117	Kyrgyzstan	Yes	0.72
117	Jamaica	No	0.72
120	Morocco	No	0.71
121	Venezuela	No	0.709
122	Samoa	No	0.708
123	Nicaragua	No	0.706
124	Nauru	No	0.703
125	Bhutan	No	0.698
126	Iraq	No	0.695
126	Eswatini	No	0.695
128	Tajikistan	No	0.691
129	Tuvalu	Yes	0.689
130	India	No	0.685
130	Bangladesh	No	0.685
132	El Salvador	No	0.678
133	Palestine	No	0.674
133	Equatorial Guinea	No	0.674
135	Cape Verde	No	0.668
136	Namibia	No	0.665
137	Guatemala	No	0.662
138	Republic of the Congo	No	0.649
139	Honduras	No	0.645
140	Kiribati	No	0.644
141	Sao Tome and Principe	No	0.637
142	Timor-Leste	No	0.634
143	Kenya	No	0.628
143	Ghana	No	0.628
145	Nepal	No	0.622
146	Vanuatu	No	0.621
147	Laos	No	0.617
148	Angola	No	0.616
149	Micronesia	No	0.615
150	Myanmar	No	0.609
151	Cambodia	No	0.606
152	Comoros	No	0.603
153	Zimbabwe	No	0.598
154	Zambia	No	0.595
155	Cameroon	No	0.588
156	Solomon Islands	No	0.584
157	Uganda	No	0.582
157	Ivory Coast	No	0.582
159	Rwanda	No	0.578
160	Papua New Guinea	No	0.576
161	Togo	No	0.571
162	Syria	No	0.564
163	Mauritania	No	0.563
164	Nigeria	No	0.56
165	Tanzania	No	0.555
166	Haiti	No	0.554
167	Lesotho	No	0.55
168	Pakistan	No	0.544
169	Senegal	No	0.53
170	Gambia	No	0.524
171	DR Congo	No	0.522
172	Malawi	No	0.517
173	Benin	No	0.515
174	Guinea-Bissau	No	0.514
175	Djibouti	No	0.513
176	Sudan	No	0.511
177	Liberia	No	0.51
178	Eritrea	No	0.503
179	Guinea	No	0.5
180	Ethiopia	No	0.497
181	Afghanistan	No	0.496
182	Mozambique	No	0.493
183	Madagascar	No	0.487
184	Yemen	No	0.47
185	Sierra Leone	No	0.467
186	Burkina Faso	No	0.459
187	Burundi	No	0.439
188	Niger	No	0.419
188	Mali	No	0.419
190	Chad	No	0.416
191	Central African Republic	No	0.414
192	Somalia	No	0.404
193	South Sudan	No	0.388
—	North Korea	No	—
—	Monaco	Yes	—
—	Vatican City	Yes	—

What correlates with Human Development Index (2023)?

Pearson r against 1,416 other country metrics sharing at least 116 countries, 1 near-identical series hidden. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Human Development Index tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

GDI Female Human DevelopmentGender Development Index by Country
r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 183
Plot
Social Progress IndexSocial Progress Index by Country
r = +0.96 · very strong · n = 168
Plot
Education IndexEducation Index by Country
r = +0.96 · very strong · n = 192
Plot
LP Living ConditionsLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.95 · very strong · n = 166
Plot
LP EducationLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.95 · very strong · n = 166
Plot
Energy Equity ScoreEnergy Trilemma Energy Performance Index
r = +0.95 · very strong · n = 126
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Human Development Index tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

Public ServicesFailed States
r = −0.92 · very strong · n = 177
Plot
Gender Inequality Index ScoreGender Inequality Index by Country
r = −0.92 · very strong · n = 165
Plot
Still Birth RateStillbirth Rates by Country
r = −0.90 · very strong · n = 191
Plot
% ChildrenChildren in the World by Country
r = −0.90 · very strong · n = 187
Plot
% of Pop. Living on Less Than $10 USD/DayPoverty Rate by Country
r = −0.90 · very strong · n = 159
Plot
Individuals Making Under $10kWealth Inequality by Country
r = −0.90 · very strong · n = 169
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Human Development Index?: Iceland has the highest Human Development Index in 2023, at 0.972, followed by Switzerland (0.97) and Norway (0.97).
Which country has the lowest Human Development Index?: South Sudan has the lowest Human Development Index in 2023, at 0.388.
What is the median Human Development Index across countries?: The median is 0.762 across the 193 countries with data in 2023.
Where does this global north countries data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Global North and South - Encyclopedia.com; The Global North/South Divide - Royal Geographic Society; Global North and Global South - Wiki; Examining Ethics and Intercultural Interactions in International Relations - IGI Global.