List of African countries by Human Development Index
Template:Short description The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. It is a standard means of measuring well-being. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. Countries fall into four broad categories based on their HDI: very high, high, medium, and low human development. Currently, Seychelles and Mauritius are the only African countries that fall into the very high human development category. South Sudan has the lowest HDI in both Africa and the world according to the list.
List
.png){kind=link}
| <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> ≥ 0.900 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.850–0.899 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.800–0.849 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.750–0.799 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.700–0.749 | <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.650–0.699 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.600–0.649 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.550–0.599 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.500–0.549 | <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.450–0.499 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 0.400–0.449 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> ≤ 0.399 <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> Data unavailable |
The table below presents the latest Human Development Index (HDI) for countries in Africa as included in the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report, released on 5 May 2025 and based on data collected in 2023. [1]
As of 2025, all African UN member states are included in the report. Several dependent territories administered by non-African states are not ranked as they are not included in the latest report. Additionally, the borders and autonomy of Western Sahara are contested [2] so an accurate HDI cannot be determined.
.svg){kind=link}
Notes
- 1.<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^ Data for Somalia only dates back to 2022.
See also
- List of African countries by GDP (nominal)
- List of African countries by GDP (PPP)
- List of African countries by GDP (PPP) per capita
- List of African countries by population
- List of countries by Human Development Index
- List of countries by Human Development Index by region
- List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty
- Poverty in Africa