There are so many ways of ranking countries. Choosing the right criteria to use is a minefield. When selecting the ranking method to use for our article on Rating of the most developed countries in the world, we chose to use the figures produced by the United Nations for its HDI report.
A Developed country, sometimes called industrialized country, more developed country is a country that has a developed economy. It will also have an infrastructure that is advanced compared to other less industrialized countries.
The Human Development Index is an extension of this economic rating stem that adds extra criteria to give a more realistic assessment of the country.
The Human Development Index is a creation of the United Nations. It is designed to measure the level of human development within a country. It takes into account education, health, and life expectancy.
Countries that have a ranking of 0.8 are classified as “The Most Developed Countries.”
Rating of the most developed countries in the world.
The Top 30 Countries.
How is it Calculated?
In Health, they consider: Life expectancy at birth.
In Education, they take into account the mean number of years of schooling for all adults over age 25, and the expected number of years that children will spend at school from when they first start school.
The standard of Living includes the GNP per capita.
Country – Norway.
Position – 1
HDI Index Ranking – 0.953
Population – 5,378,857
Notes – The key problem for Norway is the immigration and integration of ethnic minority groups. They also have to find a way of maintaining there comprehensive social security system with a rapidly aging population.
Country – Switzerland.
Position – 2
HDI Ranking – 0.944
Population – 8,591,365
Notes – Switzerland is active in many United Nations and international organizations. However, it is strongly committed to neutrality.
Country – Australia.
Position – 3
HDI Ranking – 0.939
Population – 25,203,198
Notes – Australia is the driest continent on Earth; this makes it particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Country – Ireland.
Position – 4
HDI Ranking – 0.938
Population – 4,882,495
Notes – The Irish economy was hit hard in 2008 with the banking crisis. Today it is making a recovery with growing foreign investment, particularly from the USA.
Country – Germany.
Position – 5
HDI Ranking – 0.936
Population – 83,517,045
Notes – Germany is the most populous country in Europe, and its urban areas are encouraging larger and denser populations.
Country – Iceland.
Position – 6
HDI Ranking – 0.935
Population – 339,031
Notes – Literacy, lifespan, and social cohesion are high compared to the average.
Country – Sweden.
Position – 7
HDI Ranking – 0.933
Population – 10,036,379
Notes – The proportion of Sweden’s population that were born outside Sweden increased from 11.3% in 2000 to 19.1% in 2018.
Country – Hong Kong.
Position – 8
HDI Ranking – 0.933
Population – 7,436,154
Notes – The relationship with the central Chinese government is at an all-time low at the moment.
Country – Singapore.
Position – 9
HDI Ranking – 0.932
Population – 5,804,337
Notes – Singapore’s port is the busiest in the world in terms of tonnage.
Country – Netherlands.
Position – 10
HDI Ranking – 0.931
Population – 17,097,130
Notes – The Netherlands has been undergoing some structural changes with the inclusion of some overseas territories into the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Country – Denmark.
Position – 11
HDI Ranking – 0.929
Population – 5,771,876
Notes – Denmark like the UK opted out of the Euro.
Country – Canada.
Position – 12
HDI Ranking – 0.926
Population – 37,411,047
Notes – Canada is a country of vast distances and huge natural resources.
Country – United States.
Position – 13
HDI Ranking – 0.924
Population – 329,064,917
Notes – Since the Second World War the economy has been fairly steady growth.
Country – United Kingdom.
Position – 14
HDI Ranking – 0.922
Population – 67,530,172
Notes – The UK is undergoing self-inflicted destruction of much of its trade through Brexit.
Country – Finland.
Position – 15
HDI Ranking – 0.92
Population – 5,532,156
Notes – Finland is currently struggling to deal with a rapidly aging population and fluctuations of an export- driven economy.
Country – New Zealand.
Position – 16
HDI Ranking – 0.917
Population – 4,783,063
Notes – The countries participation in several defensive alliances lapsed in the 1980s.
Country – Belgium.
Position – 17
HDI Ranking – 0.916
Population – 11,539,328
Notes – The Capital Brussels is home to the EU and NATO.
Country – Liechtenstein.
Position – 18
HDI Ranking – 0.916
Population – 38,019
Notes – The countries low taxes have encouraged spectacular economic growth.
Country – Japan.
Position – 19
HDI Ranking – 0.909
Population – 126,860,301
Notes – The Fukushima disaster continues to have consequences for Japan.
Country Austria.
Position – 20
HDI Ranking – 0.908
Population – 8,955,102
Notes – Austria entered the Euro in 1999.
Country – Luxembourg.
Position – 21
HDI Ranking – 0.904
Population – 615,729
Notes – Luxembourg entered the Euro in 1999.
Country – South Korea.
Position – 22
HDI Ranking – 0.903
Population – 51,225,308
Notes – Economic growth is slowing down in South Korea and is now somewhere between 2% and 3%.
Country – Israel.
Position – 23
HDI Ranking – 0.903
Population – 8,519,377
Notes – Expenditure on education is rather low compared to other OECD countries.
Country – France.
Position – 24
HDI Ranking – 0.901
Population – 65,129,728
Notes – In the early 21st century several French overseas territories were amalgamated into France.
Country – Slovenia.
Position – 25
HDI Ranking – 0.896
Population – 2,078,654
Notes – Slovenia joined both NATO and the EU in 2004.
Country – Spain.
Position – 26
HDI Ranking – 0.891
Population – 46,736,776
Notes – The country faces increasing internal problems due to issues in Catalonia.
Country – Czech Republic.
Position – 27
HDI Ranking – 0.888
Population – 10,689,209
Notes – They have the 15th most successful education system in the world according to the OECD.
Country – Italy.
Position – 28
HDI Ranking – 0.88
Population – 60,550,075
Notes – Overall unemployment of 11.4% and youth unemployment of 37.1% is an ongoing problem.
Country – Malta.
Position – 29
HDI Ranking – 0.878
Population – 440,372
Notes – Malta’s GDP has remained strong and is supported by a strong labor market.
Country – Estonia.
Position – 30
HDI Ranking 0.871
Population 1,325,648
Notes – Estonia is focusing on technology start-ups and innovation.
Rating of the most developed countries in the world can challenge our perceptions. We sometimes believe that our country is the best, has the highest standard of living, and then when we look at a table of factual information, we can see that our country may be a long way down the rankings. In this way, they are a handy tool for increasing our understanding of the world.
