The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic created by the United Nations to measure a country’s social and economic development. The HDI provides a single composite measure of three basic dimensions of human development: health, education and standard of living. Countries are given an HDI score between 0 and 1, with 1 indicating the highest level of development. Countries with high HDI scores are generally considered to have better quality of life and well-being compared to countries with lower scores. But is a higher HDI score definitively “better”? There are arguments on both sides of this issue.

What is the Human Development Index?

The HDI was created in 1990 by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and further developed by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. The goal was to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people-centered policies.

The HDI aims to be a broad measure of social progress that accounts for more than just economic growth. It seeks to measure the ability of a nation’s citizens to live long, educated lives with a decent standard of living.

The HDI specifically measures:

• Health – Life expectancy at birth
• Education – Expected years of schooling and mean years of schooling
• Standard of living – Gross national income per capita

Countries are given a score from 0 to 1 for each of these dimensions and then the scores are averaged to give the overall HDI value. The health and education components rely on data from UNESCO, while the standard of living uses World Bank statistics on GNI per capita.

The HDI is released annually in the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Report. The 2020 report covers 189 countries and territories.

The top and bottom ranked HDI countries

Here is a table showing the 10 highest ranking and 10 lowest ranking countries on the 2020 Human Development Index:

Highest HDI Countries

Country	HDI Score
Norway	0.957
Ireland	0.955
Switzerland	0.946
Hong Kong, China	0.939
Iceland	0.938
Germany	0.939
Sweden	0.934
Australia	0.939
Netherlands	0.933
Denmark	0.930

Lowest HDI Countries

Country	HDI Score
Niger	0.394
Central African Republic	0.397
Chad	0.398
South Sudan	0.433
Burundi	0.436
Mali	0.436
Burkina Faso	0.452
Sierra Leone	0.452
Eritrea	0.466
Mozambique	0.468

As you can see, the countries with the highest HDI scores are generally wealthy, industrialized nations concentrated in Europe, East Asia, and North America. The lowest HDI scores belong almost exclusively to sub-Saharan African nations or war-torn countries like Yemen and Afghanistan.

But there are some exceptions. The Latin American countries of Chile and Argentina rank relatively high, while some oil-rich Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait score lower than their GDP levels would indicate, dragged down by human rights and gender equality issues. So HDI provides a more nuanced view than just looking at per capita income.

Arguments for high HDI being “better”

There are several reasons why high scoring countries on the Human Development Index could be considered better places to live:

1. Longer, healthier lives

The HDI’s incorporation of life expectancy means nations with higher scores have populations that live longer lives with better health on average. For example, Hong Kong has a life expectancy of 84.7 years compared to just 53.9 years for Chad, which has the lowest HDI score. Good public health and access to quality healthcare clearly play major roles.

2. Access to education and higher skills

Countries with higher levels of school enrollment and educational attainment tend to have higher economic productivity and growth. HDI aims to capture this through its education component. More years spent in school allow citizens to develop skills, reasoning, and creativity to fully participate in society.

3. Higher living standards

The HDI uses GNI per capita to measure standard of living. People in countries higher on the index generally have more access to economic resources and income needed to afford a comfortable, secure life. Poverty levels track very closely with HDI scores.

4. Happiness and life satisfaction

Studies show higher reported levels of happiness and life satisfaction in populations with higher HDI scores. The UN’s World Happiness Report, which ranks countries by happiness levels, closely mirrors the HDI rankings. The security and opportunities afforded by high HDI appear key to happiness.

5. Gender equality

High HDI countries generally have greater gender equality in health, education, economic participation and political empowerment. This suggests women have greater opportunities and freedom.

6. Environmental performance

Countries higher on the HDI tend to perform better on environmental sustainability metrics like the Environmental Performance Index. They have greater resources and institutional capacity to protect the environment.

Concerns about high HDI scores

However, there are also arguments that high HDI scores do not necessarily mean a country is “better” overall:

1. Limitations of HDI metrics

The simplified HDI metrics have been criticized for their limitations. For example, quality of education is not measured, only years of schooling. Health is measured only by life expectancy, ignoring morbidity from conditions like obesity or mental illness. Income inequality is also not factored in.

2. Over-reliance on economic measures

Per capita GNI is given a one third weight in the HDI formula. But is more income always better if it comes at the expense of time, leisure, culture or equality? The pursuit of economic growth above all else has been questioned by some critics.

3. Happiness depends on more than HDI

Those at the top of HDI rankings are not necessarily the happiest countries. Cultural aspects, inequality, work-life balance and family connections seem crucial to happiness as well. HDI is not a perfect correlate.

4. Environmental impacts

Higher HDI countries also tend to have much higher rates of carbon emissions and resource consumption per capita. Development often comes through environmental exploitation both domestically and abroad. Higher HDI enables this damaging behavior.

5. Political freedom varies

While personal freedom and rights may correlate somewhat with HDI scores, they are not a guarantee. There are low-scoring authoritarian regimes as well as high-scoring but politically repressive states. HDI does not measure civil liberties and political freedoms.

6. Inequality persists

Finally, inequality is seen at all levels of HDI. Impressive national indicators often mask the unequal distribution of opportunities and wealth within countries, based on factors like gender, ethnicity, geography and class.

So while HDI aims to capture more than just GDP, it still has many limitations as a measure of broader human development and societal success.

Conclusion

The Human Development Index provides a useful starting point to compare basic well-being across countries. It gives a more comprehensive picture than just GDP per capita. High HDI countries perform better on broad measures of health, education, income and well-being.

However, many argue the HDI metrics are still limited. Furthermore, high human development does not automatically confer broader societal benefits like environmental sustainability, happiness, human rights and equality for all citizens.

While valuable, the HDI should be considered alongside other metrics if we want to determine which nations truly provide the best quality of life and opportunities for their people, while protecting the environment and global community. An “advanced” nation by HDI standards is not necessarily an ideal society in every respect. But neither is a low-HDI nation destined to remain forever “undeveloped.” With appropriate policies and resource utilization, great development strides are possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are some examples of countries that rank higher on the HDI than their GDP per capita ranking?

A: Chile, Argentina, Cuba and Costa Rica all have HDI rankings better than their GDP per capita ranking. This suggests health and education outcomes are better than their income levels alone would indicate.

Q: Are any countries able to achieve high HDI with relatively low GDP per capita? A: Yes, Sri Lanka and Thailand both achieve “high human development” HDI scores despite having “lower middle income” GDP per capita. Health and education policies have lifted quality of life there.

Q: Do HDI scores correspond with happiness levels? A: In general, yes – happiness rankings closely track HDI scores. But there are exceptions. Costa Rica, for example, ranks higher on happiness than its HDI score would indicate. Material wealth is not the only driver of happiness.

Q: Does HDI consider political rights and civil liberties? A: No. The HDI has no measure of political freedom or human rights. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are examples of authoritarian regimes scoring much higher on HDI than measures of democracy or freedom.

Q: Could a high HDI country also have high inequality among its population? A: Definitely – HDI is a national average that can mask internal inequality in the distribution of income, education and health. For example, the United States has the world’s 4th highest HDI but also very high income inequality.