The Human Capital Index (HCI) is an annual measurement prepared by the World Bank. [1] HCI measures which countries are best in mobilizing their human capital, the economic and professional potential of their citizens. The index measures how much capital each country loses through lack of education and health. The Human Capital Index was first published in October 2018 and ranked 157 countries. The index ranges between 0 and 1, with 1 meaning maximum potential is reached. [2] HCI is used in country studies of employment and wages, for example in Ukraine after Russia's invasion. [3]
The applications to measuring human capital were developed in research by Noam Angrist, Simeon Djankov, Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, and Harry Patrinos in the scientific journal Nature. [4] [5] These findings were popularized in a 2021 article. [6] HCI is grounded on the following three pillars: [7]
Survival
School
Health
The Human Capital Index was first published as part of the World Bank's World Development Report 2019, directed by Simeon Djankov and Federica Saliola. Nobel Prize winner Paul Romer started the measurement.
Rank | Country / Region | Score (% of potential reached) |
---|---|---|
1 | Singapore | 0.88 |
2 | Hong Kong | 0.81 |
3 | Japan | 0.80 |
4 | South Korea | 0.80 |
5 | Canada | 0.80 |
6 | Finland | 0.80 |
7 | Macao | 0.80 |
8 | Sweden | 0.80 |
9 | Ireland | 0.79 |
10 | Netherlands | 0.79 |
11 | United Kingdom | 0.78 |
12 | Estonia | 0.78 |
13 | New Zealand | 0.78 |
14 | Slovenia | 0.77 |
15 | Norway | 0.77 |
16 | Australia | 0.77 |
17 | Portugal | 0.77 |
18 | France | 0.76 |
19 | Belgium | 0.76 |
20 | Switzerland | 0.76 |
21 | Cyprus | 0.76 |
22 | Denmark | 0.76 |
23 | Poland | 0.75 |
24 | Czech Republic | 0.75 |
25 | Germany | 0.75 |
26 | Austria | 0.75 |
27 | Iceland | 0.75 |
28 | Israel | 0.73 |
29 | Spain | 0.73 |
30 | Italy | 0.73 |
31 | Croatia | 0.71 |
32 | Malta | 0.71 |
33 | Latvia | 0.71 |
34 | Lithuania | 0.71 |
35 | United States | 0.70 |
36 | Belarus | 0.70 |
37 | Greece | 0.69 |
38 | Vietnam | 0.69 |
39 | Luxembourg | 0.69 |
40 | Hungary | 0.68 |
41 | Russia | 0.68 |
42 | Serbia | 0.68 |
43 | United Arab Emirates | 0.67 |
44 | Slovakia | 0.66 |
45 | China | 0.65 |
46 | Bahrain | 0.65 |
47 | Chile | 0.65 |
48 | Turkey | 0.65 |
49 | Qatar | 0.64 |
50 | Albania | 0.63 |
51 | Montenegro | 0.63 |
52 | Seychelles | 0.63 |
53 | Ukraine | 0.63 |
54 | Costa Rica | 0.63 |
55 | Kazakhstan | 0.63 |
56 | Brunei | 0.63 |
57 | Uzbekistan | 0.63 |
58 | Mauritius | 0.62 |
59 | Mongolia | 0.61 |
60 | Bulgaria | 0.61 |
61 | Mexico | 0.61 |
62 | Malaysia | 0.61 |
63 | Thailand | 0.61 |
64 | Oman | 0.61 |
65 | Peru | 0.61 |
66 | Colombia | 0.61 |
67 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.60 |
68 | Saint Lucia | 0.60 |
69 | Argentina | 0.60 |
70 | Uruguay | 0.60 |
71 | Sri Lanka | 0.60 |
72 | Kyrgyzstan | 0.60 |
73 | Antigua and Barbuda | 0.60 |
74 | Ecuador | 0.59 |
75 | Iran | 0.59 |
76 | Palau | 0.59 |
77 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0.59 |
78 | Romania | 0.58 |
79 | Moldova | 0.58 |
80 | Palestine | 0.58 |
81 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.58 |
82 | Armenia | 0.58 |
83 | Azerbaijan | 0.58 |
84 | Saudi Arabia | 0.58 |
85 | Georgia | 0.57 |
86 | Kosovo | 0.57 |
87 | Grenada | 0.57 |
88 | Kuwait | 0.56 |
89 | North Macedonia | 0.56 |
90 | Jordan | 0.55 |
91 | Brazil | 0.55 |
92 | Samoa | 0.55 |
93 | Kenya | 0.55 |
94 | El Salvador | 0.55 |
95 | Dominica | 0.54 |
96 | Indonesia | 0.54 |
97 | Jamaica | 0.53 |
98 | Algeria | 0.53 |
99 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.53 |
100 | Tonga | 0.53 |
101 | Paraguay | 0.53 |
102 | Tunisia | 0.52 |
103 | Philippines | 0.52 |
104 | Lebanon | 0.52 |
105 | Fiji | 0.51 |
106 | Nauru | 0.51 |
107 | Nicaragua | 0.51 |
108 | Federated States of Micronesia | 0.51 |
109 | Nepal | 0.50 |
110 | Morocco | 0.50 |
111 | Tajikistan | 0.50 |
112 | Dominican Republic | 0.50 |
113 | Panama | 0.50 |
114 | Guyana | 0.50 |
115 | Egypt | 0.49 |
116 | India | 0.49 |
117 | Kiribati | 0.49 |
118 | Cambodia | 0.49 |
119 | Honduras | 0.48 |
120 | Myanmar | 0.48 |
121 | Bhutan | 0.48 |
122 | Zimbabwe | 0.47 |
123 | Bangladesh | 0.46 |
124 | Guatemala | 0.46 |
125 | Gabon | 0.46 |
126 | Laos | 0.46 |
127 | Vanuatu | 0.45 |
128 | Timor-Leste | 0.45 |
129 | Ghana | 0.45 |
130 | Tuvalu | 0.45 |
131 | Haiti | 0.45 |
132 | Namibia | 0.45 |
133 | Togo | 0.43 |
134 | Papua New Guinea | 0.43 |
135 | South Africa | 0.43 |
136 | Marshall Islands | 0.42 |
137 | Gambia | 0.42 |
138 | Senegal | 0.42 |
139 | Solomon Islands | 0.42 |
140 | Republic of the Congo | 0.42 |
141 | Botswana | 0.41 |
142 | Malawi | 0.41 |
143 | Iraq | 0.41 |
144 | Pakistan | 0.41 |
145 | Comoros | 0.40 |
146 | Lesotho | 0.40 |
147 | Benin | 0.40 |
148 | Afghanistan | 0.40 |
149 | Cameroon | 0.40 |
150 | Zambia | 0.40 |
151 | Madagascar | 0.39 |
152 | Tanzania | 0.39 |
153 | Burundi | 0.39 |
154 | Uganda | 0.38 |
155 | Burkina Faso | 0.38 |
156 | Ethiopia | 0.38 |
157 | Mauritania | 0.38 |
158 | Ivory Coast | 0.38 |
159 | Rwanda | 0.38 |
160 | Sudan | 0.38 |
161 | Yemen | 0.37 |
162 | Eswatini | 0.37 |
163 | Guinea | 0.37 |
164 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0.37 |
165 | Sierra Leone | 0.36 |
166 | Angola | 0.36 |
167 | Mozambique | 0.36 |
168 | Nigeria | 0.36 |
169 | Liberia | 0.32 |
170 | Mali | 0.32 |
171 | South Sudan | 0.31 |
172 | Chad | 0.30 |
173 | Niger | 0.29 |
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