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 human development index (hdi) by country data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Human Development Index (HDI) - UNDP; Human Development Data Center - United Nations; Human Development Insights - United Nations Development Programme; Reports and Publications - United Nations Development Programme. Last updated 2026-10-28.

Country rankings

Human Development Index (HDI) by Country

Name: Human Development Index (HDI) by Country
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).

Education Health Population193 countries · 2 metricsUpdated Oct 28, 2026Original page

5 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.

193 countries · # = rank by Human Development Index

#
1	Iceland	0.972	Very High
2	Switzerland	0.97	Very High
2	Norway	0.97	Very High
4	Denmark	0.962	Very High
5	Germany	0.959	Very High
5	Sweden	0.959	Very High
7	Australia	0.958	Very High
8	Netherlands	0.955	Very High
8	Hong Kong	0.955	Very High
10	Belgium	0.951	Very High
11	Ireland	0.949	Very High
12	Finland	0.948	Very High
13	United Kingdom	0.946	Very High
13	Singapore	0.946	Very High
15	United Arab Emirates	0.94	Very High
16	Canada	0.939	Very High
17	United States	0.938	Very High
17	New Zealand	0.938	Very High
17	Liechtenstein	0.938	Very High
20	South Korea	0.937	Very High
21	Slovenia	0.931	Very High
22	Austria	0.93	Very High
23	Japan	0.925	Very High
24	Malta	0.924	Very High
25	Luxembourg	0.922	Very High
26	France	0.92	Very High
27	Israel	0.919	Very High
28	Spain	0.918	Very High
29	Italy	0.915	Very High
29	Czechia	0.915	—
29	San Marino	0.915	Very High
32	Cyprus	0.913	Very High
32	Andorra	0.913	Very High
34	Greece	0.908	Very High
35	Poland	0.906	Very High
36	Estonia	0.905	Very High
37	Saudi Arabia	0.9	Very High
38	Bahrain	0.899	Very High
39	Lithuania	0.895	Very High
40	Portugal	0.89	Very High
41	Croatia	0.889	Very High
41	Latvia	0.889	Very High
43	Qatar	0.886	Very High
44	Slovakia	0.88	Very High
45	Chile	0.878	Very High
46	Hungary	0.87	Very High
47	Argentina	0.865	Very High
48	Uruguay	0.862	Very High
48	Montenegro	0.862	Very High
50	Oman	0.858	Very High
51	Turkey	0.853	Very High
52	Kuwait	0.852	Very High
53	Antigua and Barbuda	0.851	Very High
54	Seychelles	0.848	Very High
55	Romania	0.845	Very High
55	Bulgaria	0.845	Very High
57	Georgia	0.844	Very High
58	Saint Kitts and Nevis	0.84	Very High
59	Panama	0.839	Very High
60	Kazakhstan	0.837	Very High
60	Brunei	0.837	Very High
62	Serbia	0.833	Very High
62	Costa Rica	0.833	Very High
64	Russia	0.832	Very High
65	Belarus	0.824	Very High
66	Bahamas	0.82	Very High
67	Malaysia	0.819	Very High
68	North Macedonia	0.815	Very High
69	Armenia	0.811	Very High
69	Barbados	0.811	Very High
71	Albania	0.81	Very High
72	Trinidad and Tobago	0.807	Very High
73	Mauritius	0.806	Very High
74	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.804	Very High
75	Iran	0.799	High
76	Thailand	0.798	High
76	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0.798	High
78	China	0.797	High
79	Peru	0.794	High
80	Grenada	0.791	High
81	Mexico	0.789	High
81	Azerbaijan	0.789	High
83	Colombia	0.788	High
84	Brazil	0.786	High
84	Palau	0.786	High
86	Moldova	0.785	High
87	Ukraine	0.779	High
88	Ecuador	0.777	High
89	Sri Lanka	0.776	High
89	Dominican Republic	0.776	High
89	Guyana	0.776	High
92	Tonga	0.769	High
93	Vietnam	0.766	High
93	Maldives	0.766	High
95	Turkmenistan	0.764	High
96	Algeria	0.763	High
97	Cuba	0.762	High
98	Dominica	0.761	High
99	Paraguay	0.756	High
100	Egypt	0.754	High
100	Jordan	0.754	High
102	Lebanon	0.752	High
103	Saint Lucia	0.748	High
104	Mongolia	0.747	High
105	Tunisia	0.746	High
106	South Africa	0.741	High
107	Uzbekistan	0.74	High
108	Bolivia	0.733	High
108	Gabon	0.733	High
108	Marshall Islands	0.733	High
111	Botswana	0.731	High
111	Fiji	0.731	High
113	Indonesia	0.728	High
114	Suriname	0.722	High
115	Libya	0.721	High
115	Belize	0.721	High
117	Philippines	0.72	High
117	Kyrgyzstan	0.72	High
117	Jamaica	0.72	High
120	Morocco	0.71	High
121	Venezuela	0.709	High
122	Samoa	0.708	High
123	Nicaragua	0.706	High
124	Nauru	0.703	High
125	Bhutan	0.698	Medium
126	Iraq	0.695	Medium
126	Eswatini	0.695	Medium
128	Tajikistan	0.691	Medium
129	Tuvalu	0.689	Medium
130	India	0.685	Medium
130	Bangladesh	0.685	Medium
132	El Salvador	0.678	Medium
133	Palestine	0.674	Medium
133	Equatorial Guinea	0.674	Medium
135	Cape Verde	0.668	Medium
136	Namibia	0.665	Medium
137	Guatemala	0.662	Medium
138	Republic of the Congo	0.649	Medium
139	Honduras	0.645	Medium
140	Kiribati	0.644	Medium
141	Sao Tome and Principe	0.637	Medium
142	Timor-Leste	0.634	Medium
143	Kenya	0.628	Medium
143	Ghana	0.628	Medium
145	Nepal	0.622	Medium
146	Vanuatu	0.621	Medium
147	Laos	0.617	Medium
148	Angola	0.616	Medium
149	Micronesia	0.615	Medium
150	Myanmar	0.609	Medium
151	Cambodia	0.606	Medium
152	Comoros	0.603	Medium
153	Zimbabwe	0.598	Medium
154	Zambia	0.595	Medium
155	Cameroon	0.588	Medium
156	Solomon Islands	0.584	Medium
157	Uganda	0.582	Medium
157	Ivory Coast	0.582	Medium
159	Rwanda	0.578	Medium
160	Papua New Guinea	0.576	Medium
161	Togo	0.571	Medium
162	Syria	0.564	Medium
163	Mauritania	0.563	Medium
164	Nigeria	0.56	Medium
165	Tanzania	0.555	Medium
166	Haiti	0.554	Medium
167	Lesotho	0.55	Medium
168	Pakistan	0.544	Low
169	Senegal	0.53	Low
170	Gambia	0.524	Low
171	DR Congo	0.522	Low
172	Malawi	0.517	Low
173	Benin	0.515	Low
174	Guinea-Bissau	0.514	Low
175	Djibouti	0.513	Low
176	Sudan	0.511	Low
177	Liberia	0.51	Low
178	Eritrea	0.503	Low
179	Guinea	0.5	Low
180	Ethiopia	0.497	Low
181	Afghanistan	0.496	Low
182	Mozambique	0.493	Low
183	Madagascar	0.487	Low
184	Yemen	0.47	Low
185	Sierra Leone	0.467	Low
186	Burkina Faso	0.459	Low
187	Burundi	0.439	Low
188	Niger	0.419	Low
188	Mali	0.419	Low
190	Chad	0.416	Low
191	Central African Republic	0.414	Low
192	Somalia	0.404	Low
193	South Sudan	0.388	Low

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 human development index (hdi) by country data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Human Development Index (HDI) - UNDP; Human Development Data Center - United Nations; Human Development Insights - United Nations Development Programme; Reports and Publications - United Nations Development Programme. Last updated 2026-10-28.

Higher together

Opposite directions

Quick answers

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