******* had the highest level of the Human Development Index (HDI) worldwide in 2023 with a value of *****. With a score of ****, ****** followed closely behind *********** and had the second-highest level of human development in that year. The rise of the Asian tigers In the decades after the Cold War, the four so-called Asian tigers, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (now a Special Administrative Region of China) experienced rapid economic growth and increasing human development. At number eight and number 13 of the HDI, respectively, *********************** are the only Asian locations within the top-15 highest HDI scores. Both locations have experienced tremendous economic growth since the 1980’s and 1990’s. In 1980, the per capita GDP of Hong Kong was ***** U.S. dollars, increasing throughout the decades until reaching ****** in 2023, which is expected to continue to increase in the future. Meanwhile, in 1989, Singapore had a GDP of nearly ** billion U.S. dollars, which has risen to nearly *** billion U.S. dollars today and is also expected to keep increasing. Growth of the UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the only Middle Eastern country besides Israel within the highest ranking HDI scores globally. Within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the UAE has the third-largest GDP behind Saudi Arabia and Israel, reaching nearly *** billion U.S. dollars by 2022. Per capita, the UAE GDP was around ****** U.S. dollars in 1989, and has nearly doubled to ****** U.S. dollars by 2021. Moreover, this is expected to reach over ****** U.S. dollars by 2029. On top of being a major oil producer, the UAE has become a hub for finance and business and attracts millions of tourists annually.

The average for 2023 based on 184 countries was 0.744 points. The highest value was in Iceland: 0.972 points and the lowest value was in South Africa: 0.388 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

South Sudan and Somalia had the ****** levels of human development based on the Human Development Index (HDI). Many of the countries at the bottom of the list are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, underlining the prevalence of poverty and low levels of education in the region. Meanwhile, Switzerland had the ******* HDI worldwide.

In 2024, Hong Kong had the highest Human Development Index (HDI) in the Asia-Pacific region, with a score of ****. In contrast, Pakistan's HDI score was roughly **** in the same year. HDI provides a human-centered overview of development, based on an individual's longevity and wellness, knowledge, and decent living standards.

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 0.915 points. The highest value was in Denmark: 0.962 points and the lowest value was in Bulgaria: 0.845 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Compared to other African countries, Seychelles scored the highest in the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2022. The country also ranked 67th globally, as one of the countries with a very high human development. This was followed by Mauritius, Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia, with scores ranging from 0.80 to 0.73 points. On the other hand, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Somalia were among the countries in the region with the lowest index scores, indicating a low level of human development.

The average for 2023 based on 12 countries was 0.787 points. The highest value was in Chile: 0.878 points and the lowest value was in Venezuela: 0.709 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

South Sudan had the lowest level of the Human Development Index (HDI) worldwide in 2023 after adjusting for inequality, with a value of ****. Its nearby countries, Somalia and the Central African Republic, followed behind. Meanwhile, Iceland topped the HDI not adjusted for inequality.

The average for 2023 based on 8 countries was 0.659 points. The highest value was in Sri Lanka: 0.776 points and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 0.496 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Iceland had the highest level of the Human Development Index (HDI) worldwide in 2023 after adjusting for inequality, with a value of ****. Its Nordic neighbors Norway and Denmark followed behind. Meanwhile, Iceland also topped the HDI not adjusted for inequality.

In 2021, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Minnesota had the highest Human Development Index (HDI) score of any other states at ****. Many more states had a score just below this at ****. Mississippi had the lowest HDI score at ****, and the U.S. average was ****.

The average for 2023 based on 11 countries was 0.739 points. The highest value was in Singapore: 0.946 points and the lowest value was in Cambodia: 0.606 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2023 based on 52 countries was 0.585 points. The highest value was in the Seychelles: 0.848 points and the lowest value was in South Africa: 0.388 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Europe and Central Asia was the region with the highest Human Development Index (HDI) worldwide at ***. Meanwhile, the lowest HDI was found in Sub-Saharan Africa, underlining the high prevalence of poverty in the region. The difference between the regions was even stronger after adjusting for inequality.

The average for 2023 based on 11 countries was 0.721 points. The highest value was in Australia: 0.958 points and the lowest value was in Papua New Guinea: 0.576 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, Ukraine and Qatar topped the Gender Development Index (GDI) with index scores over ****. On the other hand, Yemen reported the lowest index, with only ****. The higher the value, the smaller the gap between women and men. The Gender Development Index (GDI) is basically a ratio of Human Development Index calculated separately for women and men.

The Human development index (HDI) for European countries in 2022 shows that although all of the countries in this statistic have scores which imply high levels of development, ************* score of ***** was the highest in this year. The HDI is a statistic that combines life-expectancy, education levels and GDP per capita. Countries with scores over ***** are considered to have very high levels of development, compared with countries that score lower.

This data set has been generated using data from the Gapminder website, which focuses on gathering and sharing statistics and other information about social, economic and environmental development at local, national and global levels.

This particular data set describes the values of several parameters (see the list below) between 1998 and 2018 for a total of 175 countries, having a total of 3675 rows. The parameters included in the data set and the column name of the dataframe are as follows:

• Country (country). Describes the country name
• Continent (continent). Describes the continent to which the country belongs
• Year (year). Describes the year to which the data belongs
• Life expectancy (life_exp). Describes the life expectancy for a given country in a given year
• Human Development Index (hdi_index). Describes the HDI index value for a given country in a given year
• CO2 emissions per person(co2_consump). Describes the CO2 emissions in tonnes per person for a given country in a given year
• Gross Domestic Product per capita (gdp). Describes the GDP per capita in dollars for a given country in a given year
• % Service workers (services). Describes the the % of service workers for a given country in a given year

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.

The Human Development Index (HDI) of Germany has increased from ***** in 1990 to ***** by 2021, indicating that Germany has reached very high levels of human development. The HDI itself is a statistic that combines life-expectancy, education levels and GDP per capita. Countries with scores over ***** are considered to have very high levels of development, compared with countries that score lower. Germany's HDI score has increased from ***** in 1990 to ***** by 2019, implying that Germany has consistently had a very high level of human development.