Countries With the Best, & Worst, Living Standards: Data

Which countries have the best, and worst, living standards? (economist.com)

Which Countries Have the Best, & Worst, Living Standards?

Data show progress worldwide may have suffered a permanent setback

March 13, 2024 - The 2020s have brought a degree of chaos not seen in decades. A pandemic was followed by a full-scale war in Europe; both sent food and fuel prices surging. Extreme weather events have shown that climate change is beginning to bite. The phrase “unprecedented times” soon sounded worn and vacuous.

This all took a toll on global standards of living. One measure of this, the un’s Human Development Index (hdi), fell in 2020 for the first time since its launch in 1990. It fell again in 2021. The hdi is one of the most widely used measures of countries’ development, after gdp. It gauges progress in terms of societal outcomes, including life expectancy at birth, expected and average years of schooling and gross national income per person. The latest figures, released on March 13th, show that the global hdi is rising again, but progress has been slow and uneven. Our table below shows how the 194 countries tracked by the un compare.

Which countries have the best, and worst, living standards?

 

Human Development Index, 2022

 

 

Index score,
1=most developed

Life expectancy
at birth, years

Expected years
of schooling

Gross national income per person, $*

1 Switzerland

0.97

84.3

16.6

69,433

   

2 Norway

0.97

83.4

18.6

69,190

   

3 Iceland

0.96

82.8

19.1

54,688

   

4 Hong Kong

0.96

84.3

17.8

62,486

   

5 Denmark

0.95

81.9

18.8

62,019

   

5 Sweden

0.95

83.5

19.0

56,996

   

7 Germany

0.95

81.0

17.3

55,340

   

7 Ireland

0.95

82.7

19.1

87,468

   

9 Singapore

0.95

84.1

16.9

88,761

   

10 Australia

0.95

83.6

21.1

49,257

   

10 Netherlands

0.95

82.5

18.6

57,278

   

12 Belgium

0.94

82.3

18.9

53,644

   

12 Finland

0.94

82.4

19.2

49,522

   

12 Liechtenstein

0.94

84.7

15.5

146,673

   

15 Britain

0.94

82.2

17.6

46,624

   

16 New Zealand

0.94

83.0

19.7

43,665

   

17 United Arab Emirates

0.94

79.2

17.2

74,104

   

18 Canada

0.94

82.8

16.0

48,444

   

19 South Korea

0.93

84.0

16.5

46,026

   

20 Luxembourg

0.93

82.6

14.2

78,554

   

20 United States

0.93

78.2

16.4

65,565

   

22 Austria

0.93

82.4

16.4

56,530

   

22 Slovenia

0.93

82.1

17.4

41,587

   

24 Japan

0.92

84.8

15.5

43,644

   

25 Israel

0.92

82.6

15.0

43,588

   

25 Malta

0.92

83.7

15.9

44,464

   

27 Spain

0.91

83.9

17.8

40,043

   

28 France

0.91

83.2

16.0

47,379

   

29 Cyprus

0.91

81.9

16.2

40,137

   

30 Italy

0.91

84.1

16.7

44,284

   

31 Estonia

0.90

79.2

15.9

37,152

   

32 Czechia

0.90

78.1

16.3

39,945

   

33 Greece

0.89

80.6

20.0

31,382

   

34 Bahrain

0.89

79.2

16.3

48,731

   

35 Andorra

0.88

83.6

12.8

54,233

   

36 Poland

0.88

77.0

15.9

35,151

   

37 Latvia

0.88

75.9

16.6

32,083

   

37 Lithuania

0.88

74.3

16.4

38,131

   

39 Croatia

0.88

79.2

15.6

34,324

   

40 Qatar

0.88

81.6

13.3

95,944

   

40 Saudi Arabia

0.88

77.9

15.2

50,620

   

42 Portugal

0.87

82.2

16.8

35,315

   

43 San Marino

0.87

83.4

12.4

57,687

   

44 Chile

0.86

79.5

16.8

24,431

   

45 Slovakia

0.85

75.3

14.7

32,171

   

45 Turkey

0.85

78.5

19.7

32,834

   

47 Hungary

0.85

75.0

15.1

34,196

   

48 Argentina

0.85

76.1

19.0

22,048

   

49 Kuwait

0.85

80.3

15.7

56,729

   

50 Montenegro

0.84

76.8

15.1

22,513

   

51 Saint Kitts and Nevis

0.84

72.0

18.4

28,442

   

52 Uruguay

0.83

78.0

17.4

22,207

   

53 Romania

0.83

74.1

14.5

31,641

   

54 Antigua and Barbuda

0.83

79.2

15.5

18,784

   

55 Brunei

0.82

74.6

13.7

59,246

   

56 Russia

0.82

70.1

15.7

26,992

   

57 Bahamas

0.82

74.4

11.9

32,535

   

57 Panama

0.82

76.8

13.2

32,029

   

59 Oman

0.82

73.9

13.0

32,967

   

60 Georgia

0.81

71.6

16.7

15,952

   

60 Trinidad and Tobago

0.81

74.7

14.1

22,473

   

62 Barbados

0.81

77.7

16.5

14,810

   

63 Malaysia

0.81

76.3

12.9

27,295

   

64 Costa Rica

0.81

77.3

16.1

20,248

   

65 Serbia

0.81

74.1

14.5

19,494

   

66 Thailand

0.80

79.7

15.6

16,887

   

67 Kazakhstan

0.80

69.5

14.8

22,587

   

67 Seychelles

0.80

71.7

13.9

28,386

   

69 Belarus

0.80

73.2

14.0

18,425

   

70 Bulgaria

0.80

71.5

13.9

25,921

   

71 Palau

0.80

65.4

17.2

19,344

   

72 Mauritius

0.80

74.0

14.6

23,252

   

73 Grenada

0.79

75.3

16.6

13,593

   

74 Albania

0.79

76.8

14.5

15,293

   

75 China

0.79

78.6

15.2

18,025

   

76 Armenia

0.79

73.4

14.4

15,388

   

77 Mexico

0.78

74.8

14.5

19,138

   

78 Iran

0.78

74.6

14.1

14,770

   

78 Sri Lanka

0.78

76.6

13.6

11,899

   

80 Bosnia

0.78

75.3

13.3

16,571

   

81 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

0.77

69.0

16.3

14,049

   

82 Dominican Republic

0.77

74.2

13.6

18,653

   

83 Ecuador

0.77

77.9

14.9

10,693

   

83 North Macedonia

0.77

73.9

13.0

16,396

   

85 Cuba

0.76

78.2

14.5

7,953

   

86 Moldova

0.76

68.6

14.9

12,964

   

87 Maldives

0.76

80.8

12.2

18,847

   

87 Peru

0.76

73.4

14.8

11,916

   

89 Azerbaijan

0.76

73.5

12.7

15,018

   

89 Brazil

0.76

73.4

15.6

14,616

   

91 Colombia

0.76

73.7

14.4

15,014

   

92 Libya

0.75

72.2

14.0

19,752

   

93 Algeria

0.74

77.1

15.5

10,978

   

94 Turkmenistan

0.74

69.4

13.2

12,860

   

95 Guyana

0.74

66.0

13.0

35,783

   

96 Mongolia

0.74

72.7

14.5

10,351

   

97 Dominica

0.74

73.0

13.6

12,468

   

98 Tonga

0.74

71.3

16.3

6,360

   

99 Jordan

0.74

74.2

12.6

9,295

   

100 Ukraine

0.73

68.6

13.3

11,416

   

101 Tunisia

0.73

74.3

14.6

10,297

   

102 Marshall Islands

0.73

65.1

16.4

6,855

   

102 Paraguay

0.73

70.5

13.9

13,161

   

104 Fiji

0.73

68.3

13.8

11,234

   

105 Egypt

0.73

70.2

12.9

12,361

   

106 Uzbekistan

0.73

71.7

12.0

8,056

   

107 Vietnam

0.73

74.6

13.1

10,814

   

108 Saint Lucia

0.72

71.3

12.7

14,778

   

109 Lebanon

0.72

74.4

12.1

12,313

   

110 South Africa

0.72

61.5

14.3

13,186

   

111 Palestinian Territories

0.72

73.4

13.2

6,936

   

112 Indonesia

0.71

68.3

14.0

12,046

   

113 Philippines

0.71

72.2

12.8

9,059

   

114 Botswana

0.71

65.9

11.4

14,842

   

115 Jamaica

0.71

70.6

12.5

9,695

   

116 Samoa

0.70

72.6

12.4

4,970

   

117 Kyrgyzstan

0.70

70.5

13.0

4,782

   

118 Belize

0.70

71.0

12.4

9,242

   

119 Venezuela

0.70

71.1

13.5

6,184

   

120 Bolivia

0.70

64.9

15.0

7,988

   

120 Morocco

0.70

75.0

14.6

7,955

   

122 Nauru

0.70

64.0

12.6

14,939

   

123 Gabon

0.69

65.7

12.4

11,194

   

124 Suriname

0.69

70.3

11.0

12,310

   

125 Bhutan

0.68

72.2

13.1

10,625

   

126 Tajikistan

0.68

71.3

10.9

4,807

   

127 El Salvador

0.67

71.5

11.9

8,886

   

128 Iraq

0.67

71.3

12.2

9,092

   

129 Bangladesh

0.67

73.7

11.9

6,511

   

130 Nicaragua

0.67

74.6

12.6

5,427

   

131 Cabo Verde

0.66

74.7

11.5

7,601

   

132 Tuvalu

0.65

64.9

12.1

4,754

   

133 Equatorial Guinea

0.65

61.2

12.1

10,663

   

134 India

0.64

67.7

12.6

6,951

   

135 Micronesia

0.63

70.9

12.6

3,709

   

136 Guatemala

0.63

68.7

10.8

8,996

   

137 Kiribati

0.63

67.7

11.8

3,440

   

138 Honduras

0.62

70.7

10.0

5,272

   

139 Laos

0.62

69.0

10.2

7,745

   

140 Vanuatu

0.61

70.5

11.8

3,244

   

141 Sao Tome and Principe

0.61

68.8

12.7

4,054

   

142 Eswatini

0.61

56.4

14.9

8,392

   

142 Namibia

0.61

58.1

11.8

9,200

   

144 Myanmar

0.61

67.3

12.1

4,038

   

145 Ghana

0.60

63.9

11.6

5,380

   

146 Kenya

0.60

62.1

11.4

4,808

   

146 Nepal

0.60

70.5

12.6

4,026

   

148 Cambodia

0.60

69.9

11.6

4,291

   

149 Congo-Brazzaville

0.59

63.1

12.4

2,903

   

150 Angola

0.59

61.9

12.2

5,328

   

151 Cameroon

0.59

61.0

13.4

3,681

   

152 Comoros

0.59

63.7

13.0

3,261

   

153 Zambia

0.57

61.8

11.0

3,157

   

154 Papua New Guinea

0.57

66.0

11.1

3,710

   

155 Timor-Leste

0.57

69.1

13.2

1,629

   

156 Solomon Islands

0.56

70.7

10.3

2,273

   

157 Syria

0.56

72.3

7.4

3,594

   

158 Haiti

0.55

63.7

11.1

2,802

   

159 Uganda

0.55

63.6

11.5

2,241

   

159 Zimbabwe

0.55

59.4

11.0

2,079

   

161 Nigeria

0.55

53.6

10.5

4,755

   

161 Rwanda

0.55

67.1

11.4

2,317

   

163 Togo

0.55

61.6

13.0

2,214

   

164 Mauritania

0.54

64.7

8.1

5,344

   

164 Pakistan

0.54

66.4

7.9

5,374

   

166 Côte d'Ivoire

0.53

58.9

10.1

5,376

   

167 Tanzania

0.53

66.8

8.6

2,578

   

168 Lesotho

0.52

53.0

11.1

2,709

   

169 Senegal

0.52

67.9

9.1

3,464

   

170 Sudan

0.52

65.6

8.5

3,515

   

171 Djibouti

0.52

62.9

8.0

4,875

   

172 Malawi

0.51

62.9

11.5

1,432

   

173 Benin

0.50

60.0

10.3

3,406

   

174 Gambia

0.49

62.9

9.0

2,090

   

175 Eritrea

0.49

66.6

7.3

1,957

   

176 Ethiopia

0.49

65.6

9.9

2,369

   

177 Liberia

0.49

61.1

10.5

1,330

   

177 Madagascar

0.49

65.2

9.2

1,464

   

179 Guinea-Bissau

0.48

59.9

10.5

1,880

   

180 Congo

0.48

59.7

9.6

1,080

   

181 Guinea

0.47

59.0

10.2

2,404

   

182 Afghanistan

0.46

62.9

10.7

1,335

   

183 Mozambique

0.46

59.6

10.7

1,219

   

184 Sierra Leone

0.46

60.4

9.0

1,613

   

185 Burkina Faso

0.44

59.8

8.1

2,037

   

186 Yemen

0.42

63.7

7.9

1,106

   

187 Burundi

0.42

62.0

10.0

712

   

188 Mali

0.41

59.4

7.0

2,044

   

189 Chad

0.39

53.0

8.2

1,389

   

189 Niger

0.39

62.1

7.2

1,283

   

191 Central African Republic

0.39

54.5

7.3

869

   

192 South Sudan

0.38

55.6

5.6

691

   

193 Somalia

0.38

56.1

7.6

1,072

   

 

Switzerland topped the charts for a second consecutive year. Its overall score is boosted by high incomes and long life expectancies. Other countries in western Europe have some of the highest scores. Some parts of Asia also do well, with Hong Kong and Singapore making it to the top ten. Elsewhere it is bleaker: countries such as Peru, Colombia, Libya and Lebanon have made little progress since 2019. Living standards in Ukraine and Russia have also dropped: the countries fell by 23 and four places respectively between 2021 and 2022. War-torn Yemenpoor and indebted Belize, and Micronesia, an island country at risk of being swallowed by rising sea levels, all peaked in 2010 and have declined every year since.

The index is a useful, but incomplete, measure. It does not account for economic inequality, for example, or disparities between ethnicities and genders. (The UN now produces separate indices that include some of these measures.)

But it does provide a consistent measure for policymakers and ngo’s. Its regional projections for 2023 show that living standards are set to rise further still; only the Arab world will not have fully rebounded to its score in 2019. Nevertheless the long-term trend appears to have suffered a permanent setback since the pandemic (see chart 1). The value for 2022 and projection for 2023 suggests that development may be stuck on a course below the pre-2019 trend, which had held strong since 1999.

This setback will affect the world’s poorest the hardest. Across the oecd, a club of rich countries, hdi values have recovered to or surpassed pre-pandemic levels. But that is true for less than half of the world’s least-developed countries. For 20 years the gap between countries with the highest and lowest hdi values had narrowed (except for a brief period around the financial crash of 2007-09). But since 2020 it has widened.

Yet there are reasons for hope. The chaos of the 2020s has also shown that governments can collaborate on some big issues. During the pandemic, vaccines were developed, produced and distributed at remarkable speed, saving an estimated 20m lives in their first year alone. At cop28 last year the world proved that it could agree on a deal to tackle climate change (even if fulfilling it is another matter). More of that will be needed to overcome the setbacks from the start of the decade.

Извор: WUNRN – 21.04.2024