Development Ledger · Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa
HDI rank 106 of 193Upper-middle incomeGDI group 1
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Human Development Index (2023)
0.741
+0.108 since 1990
Inequality-adjusted HDI
0.476
35.8% lost to inequality
Life expectancy
66.1 yrs
Expected schooling 13.8 yrs
GNI per person (2021 PPP $)
$13,694
Mean schooling 11.6 yrs
HDI over Time
South Africa against its closest income-group peers, 1990–2023.
The Three Dimensions
Each scaled 0 to 1 against UNDP goalposts. The HDI is their geometric mean, so a weak dimension pulls it down more than an average would.
Health0.709
Education0.770
Income0.743
World Bank Human Capital Index (2020): 0.42. A child born today will be 43% as productive as with full health and education.
Peers
South Africa against economies in the same World Bank income group, same region first.
Years Behind
How many years ago the benchmark reached the level this country is at today.