Where the world stands on human development

GDP tells you how much an economy produces. It does not tell you whether people live long lives, go to school or can afford a decent standard of living. The UN Development Programme’s Human Development Index (HDI) tries to capture all three, and its 2025 report, covering 2023 data, is now in the Development Ledger for all 47 countries on this site. Here are five things it shows.

1. The top and the bottom are still far apart

Switzerland and Norway share second place in the world with an HDI of 0.970. Ethiopia, the lowest-ranked country in our set, scores 0.497 and ranks 180th of 193. Pakistan (0.544, rank 168) and Nigeria (0.560, rank 164) are not far above. Behind those numbers is a gap of roughly 30 years in life expectancy: Nigerians can expect to live 54.5 years on average, compared with 84.7 in Japan.

2. The fastest progress has come from Asia

China has gained more HDI than any other country in our set since 1990, rising from 0.491 to 0.797, an increase of 0.306. Bangladesh is close behind at 0.288. Both were in the UNDP’s low human development group in 1990; China is now in the high group and Bangladesh in the medium group. Bangladesh is a useful reminder that income is only part of the story: it now shares rank 130 with India despite slightly lower income per person ($8,498 against $9,047 in 2021 PPP), largely because Bangladeshis live longer, at 74.7 years compared with 72.0.

3. Inequality hides a lot

The HDI is an average. The inequality-adjusted version (IHDI) discounts it for how unevenly health, schooling and income are shared. Across our 47 countries the median loss is about 12%, but it ranges from 6.3% in Belgium to 36.5% in Ghana. India loses 30.7% of its HDI to inequality and Brazil 24.4%. In practice that means the typical Brazilian or Indian is a good deal worse off than the national average suggests.

4. Gender gaps remain wide in some places, and close to zero in others

The Gender Inequality Index measures gaps in reproductive health, political representation and labour-force participation, where 0 is perfect equality. Norway scores 0.004, the lowest in our set; Nigeria scores 0.677, among the highest in the world. The biggest drivers at the bottom are maternal mortality and adolescent births, both of which also hold back schooling for girls.

5. Most of the world is still poor by rich-country standards

Average income across the world was about $20.49 a day per person in 2022, at purchasing-power parity. Because the distribution is skewed, the typical person lives on far less than that. Multidimensional poverty, which counts deprivations in health, education and living standards, still affects 68.7% of Ethiopians (2019 survey) and 16.4% of Indians (2021).

The Development Ledger’s global income calculator lets you see where any income falls in that distribution.

Reading the numbers carefully

• HDI data has a lag. The 2025 report describes 2023, so it does not yet capture recent shocks.
• Income is measured per person at 2021 purchasing-power parity, which adjusts for price differences but not for how income is shared.
• Ranks can tie. India and Bangladesh share 130th place, and small changes in the third decimal place move countries several places.