The Human Development Index (HDI) of Ireland from 1990 to 2023 shows that after 1995, Ireland's HDI score increased quite rapidly, so that by 2024 it's score of 0.949 gave it the status of a very highly developed country. The HDI itself is a statistic that combines life-expectancy, education levels and GDP per capita. Countries with scores over 0.700 are considered to have high levels of development, compared with countries that score lower.

Ireland: Human Development Index (0 - 1): The latest value from 2022 is 0.95 points, an increase from 0.945 points in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 0.727 points, based on data from 185 countries. Historically, the average for Ireland from 1980 to 2022 is 0.873 points. The minimum value, 0.734 points, was reached in 1980 while the maximum of 0.955 points was recorded in 2020.

In 2025, Luxembourg was the country with the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Of the 20 listed countries, 13 are in Europe and five are in Asia, alongside the U.S. and Australia. There are no African or Latin American countries among the top 20. Correlation with high living standards While GDP is a useful indicator for measuring the size or strength of an economy, GDP per capita is much more reflective of living standards. For example, when compared to life expectancy or indices such as the Human Development Index or the World Happiness Report, there is a strong overlap - 14 of the 20 countries on this list are also ranked among the 20 happiest countries in 2024, and all 20 have "very high" HDIs. Misleading metrics? GDP per capita figures, however, can be misleading, and to paint a fuller picture of a country's living standards then one must look at multiple metrics. GDP per capita figures can be skewed by inequalities in wealth distribution, and in countries such as those in the Middle East, a relatively large share of the population lives in poverty while a smaller number live affluent lifestyles.