Countries by Human Development Index

Complete ranking of 193 countries • index (0-1) • Updated 2026

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About Human Development Index Rankings

Iceland leads all 193 countries in Human Development Index with a value of 0.97, while South Sudan ranks last at 0.39. This represents a 3-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.

What Human Development Index Measures

Composite 0-1 index of life expectancy, education, and income, from Our World in Data using the latest available country values in TerraBrawl.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Human Development Index across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 0.39 (South Sudan) to 0.97 (Iceland) — a 3-fold difference across 193 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 12 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 0.62 to 0.86. The overall spread from 0.39 to 0.97 reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Iceland and Switzerland are separated by only 0%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data. The bottom five countries are all from Africa, pointing to regional challenges that affect human development index across the continent.

Continental Leaders

Highest Human Development Index

The 5 strongest Human Development Index reads.

Lowest Human Development Index

The 5 lowest Human Development Index reads.

Data Note

Rankings are based on the latest available data from Our World in Data, covering 193 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.

Top 10 Countries

Country Ladder

1stIcelandEurope0.972ndSwitzerlandEurope0.973rdNorwayEurope0.974thDenmarkEurope0.965thGermanyEurope0.966thSwedenEurope0.967thAustraliaOceania0.968thHong KongAsia0.959thNetherlandsEurope0.9510thBelgiumEurope0.9511thIrelandEurope0.9512thFinlandEurope0.9513thUnited KingdomEurope0.9514thSingaporeAsia0.9515thUnited Arab EmiratesAsia0.9416thCanadaNorth America0.9417thLiechtensteinEurope0.9418thNew ZealandOceania0.9419thUnited StatesNorth America0.9420thSouth KoreaAsia0.9421stSloveniaEurope0.9322ndAustriaEurope0.9323rdJapanAsia0.9324thMaltaEurope0.9225thLuxembourgEurope0.9226thFranceEurope0.9227thIsraelAsia0.9228thSpainEurope0.9229thCzechiaEurope0.9230thItalyEurope0.9231stSan MarinoEurope0.9232ndAndorraEurope0.9133rdCyprusEurope0.9134thGreeceEurope0.9135thPolandEurope0.9136thEstoniaEurope0.9137thSaudi ArabiaAsia0.9038thBahrainAsia0.9039thLithuaniaEurope0.9040thPortugalEurope0.8941stCroatiaEurope0.8942ndLatviaEurope0.8943rdQatarAsia0.8944thSlovakiaEurope0.8845thChileSouth America0.8846thHungaryEurope0.8747thArgentinaSouth America0.8648thMontenegroEurope0.8649thUruguaySouth America0.8650thOmanAsia0.8651stTurkeyEurope0.8552ndKuwaitAsia0.8553rdAntigua and BarbudaNorth America0.8554thSeychellesAfrica0.8555thBulgariaEurope0.8456thRomaniaEurope0.8457thGeorgiaEurope0.8458thSaint Kitts and NevisNorth America0.8459thPanamaNorth America0.8460thBruneiAsia0.8461stKazakhstanAsia0.8462ndCosta RicaNorth America0.8363rdSerbiaEurope0.8364thRussiaEurope0.8365thBelarusEurope0.8266thBahamasNorth America0.8267thMalaysiaAsia0.8268thNorth MacedoniaEurope0.8169thArmeniaEurope0.8170thBarbadosNorth America0.8171stAlbaniaEurope0.8172ndTrinidad and TobagoNorth America0.8173rdMauritiusAfrica0.8174thBosnia and HerzegovinaEurope0.8075thIranAsia0.8076thThailandAsia0.8077thSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesNorth America0.8078thChinaAsia0.8079thPeruSouth America0.7980thGrenadaNorth America0.7981stAzerbaijanEurope0.7982ndMexicoNorth America0.7983rdColombiaNorth America0.7984thBrazilSouth America0.7985thPalauOceania0.7986thMoldovaEurope0.7987thUkraineEurope0.7888thEcuadorSouth America0.7889thDominican RepublicNorth America0.7890thGuyanaNorth America0.7891stSri LankaAsia0.7892ndTongaOceania0.7793rdMaldivesAsia0.7794thVietnamAsia0.7795thTurkmenistanAsia0.7696thAlgeriaAfrica0.7697thCubaNorth America0.7698thDominicaNorth America0.7699thParaguaySouth America0.76100thEgyptAfrica0.75101stJordanAsia0.75102ndLebanonAsia0.75103rdSaint LuciaNorth America0.75104thMongoliaAsia0.75105thTunisiaAfrica0.75106thSouth AfricaAfrica0.74107thUzbekistanAsia0.74108thBoliviaSouth America0.73109thGabonAfrica0.73110thMarshall IslandsOceania0.73111stBotswanaAfrica0.73112ndFijiOceania0.73113rdIndonesiaAsia0.73114thSurinameNorth America0.72115thBelizeNorth America0.72116thLibyaAfrica0.72117thJamaicaNorth America0.72118thKyrgyzstanAsia0.72119thPhilippinesAsia0.72120thMoroccoAfrica0.71121stVenezuelaNorth America0.71122ndSamoaOceania0.71123rdNicaraguaNorth America0.71124thNauruOceania0.70125thBhutanAsia0.70126thIraqAsia0.69127thEswatiniAfrica0.69128thTajikistanAsia0.69129thTuvaluOceania0.69130thBangladeshAsia0.69131stIndiaAsia0.69132ndEl SalvadorNorth America0.68133rdEquatorial GuineaAfrica0.67134thPalestineAsia0.67135thCabo VerdeAfrica0.67136thNamibiaAfrica0.67137thGuatemalaNorth America0.66138thCongoAfrica0.65139thHondurasNorth America0.65140thKiribatiOceania0.64141stSao Tome and PrincipeAfrica0.64142ndTimor-LesteAsia0.63143rdGhanaAfrica0.63144thKenyaAfrica0.63145thNepalAsia0.62146thVanuatuOceania0.62147thLaosAsia0.62148thAngolaAfrica0.62149thMicronesiaOceania0.61150thMyanmarAsia0.61151stCambodiaAsia0.61152ndComorosAfrica0.60153rdZimbabweAfrica0.60154thZambiaAfrica0.59155thCameroonAfrica0.59156thSolomon IslandsOceania0.58157thCôte d'IvoireAfrica0.58158thUgandaAfrica0.58159thRwandaAfrica0.58160thPapua New GuineaOceania0.58161stTogoAfrica0.57162ndSyriaAsia0.56163rdMauritaniaAfrica0.56164thNigeriaAfrica0.56165thTanzaniaAfrica0.56166thHaitiNorth America0.55167thLesothoAfrica0.55168thPakistanAsia0.54169thSenegalAfrica0.53170thGambiaAfrica0.52171stCongo, Democratic RepublicAfrica0.52172ndMalawiAfrica0.52173rdBeninAfrica0.52174thGuinea-BissauAfrica0.51175thDjiboutiAfrica0.51176thSudanAfrica0.51177thLiberiaAfrica0.51178thEritreaAfrica0.50179thGuineaAfrica0.50180thEthiopiaAfrica0.50181stAfghanistanAsia0.50182ndMozambiqueAfrica0.49183rdMadagascarAfrica0.49184thYemenAsia0.47185thSierra LeoneAfrica0.47186thBurkina FasoAfrica0.46187thBurundiAfrica0.44188thMaliAfrica0.42189thNigerAfrica0.42190thChadAfrica0.42191stCentral African RepublicAfrica0.41192ndSomaliaAfrica0.40193rdSouth SudanAfrica0.39