South Africa's human development ranking improves with 0.699 HDI Value

As in previous years, South Africa has seen a steady increase in its Human Development Index (HDI) value since 1990, moving up 7.2% from 0.621 in 1990, to 0.666 in 2014.

Brand South Africa has welcomed South Africa’s improvement in the 2018 Human Development Report (HDR), which ranks SA at 113 out of 189 countries.

The report, which was released recently by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), indicates that South Africa’s 2018 ranking is 113 out of 189 countries, with an overall human development score increased to 0.699.

As in previous years, South Africa has seen a steady increase in its Human Development Index (HDI) value since 1990, moving up 7.2% from 0.621 in 1990, to 0.666 in 2014. 

Brand South Africa’s general manager for research, Petrus de Kock, said South Africa’s improvement in the rankings comes as a result of advancements in the area of life expectancy, in which South Africa has made marked progress since 2005.

“This means that South Africans today enjoy a longer, healthier life; have better access to education and a more decent living standard. The National Development Plan (NDP) identifies human development as a critical part of inclusive growth and acknowledges its inadequate improvement in relation to education, health, and safety.

“South Africa has a good story developing, indicated by the steady improvement of its HDI score over the last years,” said De Kock.

De Kock said South Africa is classified as being located in the medium human development category, and the country’s HDI of 0.699 is above average in this category.

“The country’s performance is even more impressive when compared to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, which has an average HDI score of 0.537.”

The top five nations in terms of human development are Norway with an HDI Value of 0.953; Switzerland achieves an HDI Value of 0.944; Australia’s HDI Value is recorded to be at 0.939; Ireland’s HDI Value is positioned at 0.938, and Germany’s HDI Value is reported to be 0.936.

The 2018 report warns that climatic changes, escalating civil conflicts, and growing inequality will continue to impact negatively on human development prospects in many parts of the world.

(With inputs from South African Government press release)