Switzerland had the highest level of the Human Development Index (HDI) worldwide in 2022 with a value of 0.967. With a score of 0.966, Norway followed closely behind Switzerland 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 four and number nine of the HDI, respectively, Hong Kong and Singapore are the only Asian locations within the top 10 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 5,703 U.S. dollars, increasing throughout the decades until reaching 50,029 in 2023, which is expected to continue to increase in the future. Meanwhile, in 1989, Singapore had a GDP of nearly 31 billion U.S. dollars, which has risen to nearly 501 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 507 billion U.S. dollars by 2022. Per capita, the UAE GDP was around 21,142 U.S. dollars in 1989, and has nearly doubled to 43,438 U.S. dollars by 2021. Moreover, this is expected to reach over 67,538 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.

South Sudan and Somalia had the lowest 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 highest HDI worldwide.

The Human Development Index (HDI) of Ireland from 1990 to 2022 shows that after 1995, Ireland's HDI score increased quite rapidly, so that by 2022 it's score of 0.950 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.

In 2021, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Minnesota had the highest Human Development Index (HDI) score of any other states at 0.95. Many more states had a score just below this at 0.94. Mississippi had the lowest HDI score at 0.87, and the U.S. average was 0.92.

The aim of the Human Development Report is to stimulate global, regional and national policy-relevant discussions on issues pertinent to human development. Accordingly, the data in the Report require the highest standards of data quality, consistency, international comparability and transparency. The Human Development Report Office (HDRO) fully subscribes to the Principles governing international statistical activities.

The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with different human development outcomes. These contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.

The 2019 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) data shed light on the number of people experiencing poverty at regional, national and subnational levels, and reveal inequalities across countries and among the poor themselves.Jointly developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford, the 2019 global MPI offers data for 101 countries, covering 76 percent of the global population. The MPI provides a comprehensive and in-depth picture of global poverty – in all its dimensions – and monitors progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 – to end poverty in all its forms. It also provides policymakers with the data to respond to the call of Target 1.2, which is to ‘reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definition'.

The Human development index (HDI) of Portugal from 1990 to 2021 shows that the HDI score of Portugal has increased from 0.701 in 1990 to 0.866 in 2021, implying that the country's human development has improved during this time period. The HDI itself is a statistic that combines life-expectancy, education levels and GDP per capita. Countries with scores over 0.800 are considered to have very high levels of development, compared with countries that score lower.

The human development index (HDI) itself is a statistic that combines life-expectancy, education levels, and GDP per capita. Countries with scores over 0.800 are considered to have very high levels of development, compared with countries that score lower. Hungary's HDI score has increased significantly since 1990 when it had a score of 0.703, reaching a score of 0.51 by 2022.

Iceland had the highest level of the Human Development Index (HDI) worldwide in 2022 after adjusting for inequality, with a value of 0.91. Its Nordic neighbors Norway and Denmark followed behind. Meanwhile, Switzerland topped the HDI not adjusted for inequality.

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.

Over recent years, online government services have become increasingly common. In 2024, Denmark was ranked first with a near-perfect E-Government Development Index (EGDI) rating of 0.9847. The EGDI assesses e-government development at a national level based on three components: the online service index, the telecommunication infrastructure index, and the human capital index. E-government development and the persisting digital divideAccording to the UN, e-government is a pivotal factor in advancing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Public services should be accessible to all, and e-government has to harness existing and new technologies to ensure that. There is a risk of a new digital divide, as low-income countries with insufficient infrastructure are lagging, leaving already vulnerable people even more at risk of not being able to gain any advantage from new technologies. Despite some investments and developmental gains, many countries are still unable to benefit from ICTs because of poor connectivity, high cost of access and lack of necessary skills. These factors have a detrimental effect on the further development of e-government in low EGDI-ranked regions such as Africa as the pace of technological progress intensifies. E-government servicesTransactional services are among the most common features offered by e-government websites worldwide. In 2018, it was found that 139 countries enabled their citizens to submit income taxes via national websites. The majority of countries allow citizens to access downloadable forms, receive updates or access archived information about a wide range of sectors such as education, employment, environment, health, and social protection.

The Human Development Index (HDI) of Germany has increased from 0.829 in 1990 to 0.942 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 0.800 are considered to have very high levels of development, compared with countries that score lower. Germany's HDI score has increased from 0.801 in 1990 to 0.947 by 2019, implying that Germany has consistently had a very high level of human development.

The human development index (HDI) score of Russia slightly decreased in 2022, having reached 0.821. The score of 0.824, which was recorded in 2018 and 2019, was the highest observation since 1990. The HDI is a statistic that combines life-expectancy, education levels and GDP per capita. Countries with scores over 0.800 are considered to have very high levels of development, compared with countries that score lower. The HDI score of Russia declined between 1990 and 1995 before recovering from 2000 onwards.

In 2023, Switzerland led the ranking of countries with the highest average wealth per adult, with approximately 709,600 U.S. dollars per person. Luxembourg was ranked second with an average wealth of around 607,500 U.S. dollars per adult, followed by Hong Kong SAR. However, the figures do not show the actual distribution of wealth. The Gini index shows wealth disparities in countries worldwide. Does wealth guarantee a longer life? As the old adage goes “money can’t buy you happiness”, yet wealth and income are continuously correlated to the quality of life of individuals in different countries around the world. While greater levels of wealth may not guarantee a higher quality life, it certainly increases an individual’s chances of having a longer one. Although they do not show the whole picture, life expectancy at birth is higher in the more wealthier world regions. Does money bring happiness? A number of the world’s happiest nations also feature in the list of those countries for which average income was highest. Finland, however, which was the happiest country worldwide in 2022, is missing in the list of top twenty countries with the highest wealth per adult. As such, the explanation for this may be the fact that the larger proportion of the population has access to a high income relative to global levels. Measures of quality of life Criticism of the use of income or wealth as a proxy for quality of life led to the creation of the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Although income is included within the index, it also has other factors taken into account such as health and education. As such, the countries with the highest human development index can be correlated to those with the highest income levels. That said, none of the above measures seek to assess the physical and mental environmental impact of a high quality of life sourced through high incomes. The happy planet index demonstrates that the inclusion of experienced well-being and ecological footprint in place of income and other proxies for quality of life results in many of the world’s materially poorer nations being included in the happiest.

The Human development index (HDI) of Lithuania from 1990 to 2021 shows that the HDI score of Lithuania has risen from 0.734 in 1990 to 0.875 by 2021, indicating that the country has achieved 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 0.800 are considered to have very high levels of human development, compared with countries that score lower.

In 2022, Kenya scored 0.60 points in the Human Development Index (HDI), which indicated a medium level of development. An overall improvement was recorded from 2000 onwards. That year, Kenya's score was 0.49, meaning that the country had a low level of human development. The categorization changed from low to medium in 2008; however, it fell back into the low HDI category the following year. Since 2010, Kenya has remained in the medium category.

In 2022, Egypt scored 0.73 in the Human Development Index (HDI), which indicated a high level of development. The country experienced a slight drop in the HDI score since 2019, which was 0.74. However, an overall improvement was recorded from 2000 onwards. At that year, Egypt's score was 0.63, meaning that the country had a medium human development. The categorization changed from medium to high in 2015.

In 2023, Indonesia had a human development index score of 73.55. This reflects a slight increase in comparison to the previous year. The HDI score of Indonesia has been gradually increasing for the past decade.

In 2021, Ghana scored 0.63 on the Human Development Index (HDI), which indicated a medium level of development. The country experienced a steady increase in the index from 2000 onwards. However, it remained between the medium and low indicators of human development.

In 2024, Canberra, the capital city of Australia, had the highest Human Development Index (HDI) in the Asia-Pacific region, with a score of 0.98. In contrast, India's Hyderabad had an HDI score of roughly 0.65 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.

In 2022, Ethiopia scored almost 0.5 in the Human Development Index (HDI), which indicated a low level of development. The country experienced no change in the HDI score since the 2019. However, an improvement was recorded from 2000 onwards. That year, Ethiopia's score was 0.29, meaning that the country had a lower human development. The country's categorization was low throughout the period under review.