The following list shows the subnational entities and regions with the highest and lowest Human Development Index (HDI) in the world and on different continents. The HDI is a summary measure of human development that considers three dimensions: health, education, and standard of living. It is calculated by taking the geometric mean of three normalized indicators: life expectancy at birth, mean and expected years of schooling, and gross national income per capita. The HDI ranges from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating higher human development. The HDI itself was created by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990, and was further used by the UNDP to measure the country's development in its annual Human Development Reports.The index was initially calculated at the country level. The Global Data Lab at Radboud University in the Netherlands launched a subnational HDI (SHDI) in 2018, which covers around 1,800 regions in over 160 countries to better reflect the differences within countries. Global Data Lab also provides the Subnational Human the Subnational Gender Development Index (SGDI) and data on income, years of education and life expectancy on the subnational level. The SHDI and SGDI are based on the UNDP's official HDI and GDI, but they use subnational data in addition to national data.

Regions with the highest and lowest HDI 25 highest HDIs The top 25 regions with the highest HDI in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Very high human development1Zurich0.9932Australian Capital Territory 0.9883London0.982Oslo and Akershus5Hamburg0.977Berlin7Stockholm County0.976Lake Geneva region9Prague0.97510Western Norway0.97411Western Australia0.97312Baden-Württemberg0.972IcelandTrøndelag15Capital Region of Denmark0.97116Agder-Rogaland0.97017Utrecht province0.96918Helsinki-Uusimaa Region0.967BavariaBratislava Region21Antwerp Province0.966Central SloveniaCapital Area (Gyeonggi, Seoul, Incheon)24Ticino0.96525North Holland0.964Northwestern Switzerland

25 lowest HDIs The top 25 regions with the lowest HDI in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Low human development1Middle Juba0.2302Galguduud0.2793Zone 2 (Borkou, Ennedi, Tibesti,Kanem, Barh El Gazel, Lac)0.2844Hiran0.2855Bakool0.296Bay7Lower Juba0.3028Zone 5 (Chari-Baguirmi, Dababa,Baguirmi, Hadjer-Lamis)0.3039Zone 4 (Ouaddai, Assoungha,Sila, Wadi Fira)0.30610Sahel Region0.30811Northern Bahr el Ghazal0.31312Middle Shabelle0.31413Warrap0.31517Togdheer0.32419Lower Shabelle0.32620Timbuktu Region0.32821Gedo0.32925Jonglei State0.335

Africa Top 10 highest

The 10 regions with the highest HDI in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Very high human development1Port Said Governorate0.8222South (Grand Port, Savanne, Plaines Wilhems, Rivière Noire)0.8153South-East District0.8124Suez Governorate0.8085Alexandria Governorate0.8056Cairo Governorate0.8037North (Port Louis, Pamplemousses,Rivière du Rempart, Flacq, Moka)0.800High human development8Grand Tunis (Ariana, Tunis, Ben Arous, Manouba)0.7909North Center (Algiers, Blida, Boumerdès, Tipaza, Bouïra, Médéa, Tizi Ouzou, Béjaïa, Chlef, Aïn Defla)0.78410Damietta0.779 Top 10 lowest

The 10 regions with the lowest HDI in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Low human development1Middle Juba0.2302Galguduud0.2793Zone 2 (Borkou, Ennedi, Tibesti,Kanem, Barh El Gazel, Lac)0.2844Hiran0.2855Bakool0.296Bay7Lower Juba0.3028Zone 5 (Chari-Baguirmi, Dababa,Baguirmi, Hadjer-Lamis)0.3039Zone 4 (Ouaddai, Assoungha,Sila, Wadi Fira)0.30610Sahel Region0.308

Asia

Top 10 highest

The 10 regions with the highest HDI in Asia in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Very high human development1Capital Area (Gyeonggi, Seoul, Incheon)0.9672Southern Kantō (Saitama, Chiba,Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano)0.9513Gyeongnam (South Gyeongsang,Busan, Ulsan)0.9344Kansai (Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo,Nara, Wakayama)0.9275Tōkai (Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie)0.9256Center (Riyadh, Al-Qassim)0.9247Chūgoku (Tottori, Shimane, Okayama,Hiroshima, Yamaguchi)0.9218Chungcheong (North Chungcheong,South Chungcheong, Daejeon, Sejong)0.9209Jeolla (North Jeolla, South Jeolla, Gwangju)0.91710North (Northern Borders, Al Jawf, Ha'il)0.914 Top 10 lowest

The 10 regions with the lowest HDI in Asia in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Low human development1Hajjah, Sa'dah, 'Amran0.4132Al Bayda, Dhamar, Raymah0.4203Al Hudaydah, Al Mahwit0.4224South (Uruzgan, Helmand, Zabul, Nimroz,Kandahar)0.4235Former Federally Administered Tribal Areas0.4556North East (Baghlan, Takhar, Badakhshan,Kunduz)0.464Balochistan8West (Ghor, Herat, Badghis, Farah)0.4669Ibb0.47010East (Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman, Nuristan)0.477

Europe

Top 10 highest

The 10 regions with the highest HDI in Europe in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Very high human development1Zurich0.9932London0.982Oslo and Akershus4Hamburg0.977Berlin6Stockholm County0.976Lake Geneva region8Prague0.9759Western Norway0.97410Baden-Württemberg0.972Trøndelag Top 10 lowest

The 10 regions with the lowest HDI in Europe in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2022)High human development1Southeastern Statistical Region0.7182Western Ukraine0.7223Central Ukraine0.7274North Ukraine0.7375Central Development Region0.738Northeastern Statistical Region7South Ukraine0.7408Eastern Ukraine0.7419Prizren district0.742Northern Development Region

North America

Top 10 highest

The 10 regions with the highest HDI in North America in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Very high human development1Massachusetts0.961New Hampshire3Minnesota0.9604Colorado0.9585Washington0.9576Connecticut0.955Vermont8District of Columbia0.9529Oregon0.94910New Jersey0.948Virginia Top 10 lowest

The 10 regions with the lowest HDI in North America in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Low human development1Centre0.5062Artibonite0.5213Grand'Anse, Nippes0.5254Sud-Est0.5335Sud0.5406Nord-Est0.5447Nord-Ouest0.546Medium human development8Lempira Department0.5679North0.56910Gracias a Dios Department0.577

South America

Top 10 highest

The 10 regions with the highest HDI in South America in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Very high human development1Santiago Metropolitan Region0.9082Tarapacá Region0.904Arica y Parinacota4Antofagasta Region0.9005Valparaíso Region0.8946Magallanes Region0.8927Atacama Region0.8818Montevideo0.8789Panama Province0.87110Northwest Region0.867

Top 10 lowest

The 10 regions with the lowest HDI in South America in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Medium human development1Brokopondo and Sipaliwini0.5912Apure0.6383Potosí Department0.6484Barinas0.6565Portuguesa0.6576Vaupés Department0.6637Guárico0.6718Yaracuy0.6719Trujillo0.67810Sucre0.679

Oceania

Top 10 highest

The 10 regions with the highest HDI in Oceania in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Very high human development1Australian Capital Territory0.9882Western Australia0.9733Wellington Region0.9684Auckland Region0.9675New South Wales0.9586Hawaii0.9577Victoria0.9548Queensland0.9479Northern Territory0.944South Australia Top 10 lowest

The 10 regions with the lowest HDI in Oceania in 2023 were: RankRegionCountryHDI (2023)Low human development1Hela Province0.4802Enga Province0.511Southern Highlands Province4Gulf Province0.5415Eastern Highlands Province0.5446Torba Province0.549Medium human development7Sandaun Province0.5508Penama Province0.5649East Sepik Province0.57110Jiwaka Province0.573 References

External links Map of global HDI by region