The latest United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) report reveals a troubling global divide, with wealthy nations rebounding from pandemic setbacks while developing countries fall further behind. According to data released on May 6, 2025, the gap between the highest and lowest-ranked countries has expanded for four consecutive years.
Achim Steiner of the United Nations Development Programme highlighted this growing disparity, noting that 97% of wealthy countries have fully recovered or surpassed their pre-pandemic development scores, while fewer than 60% of poor nations have achieved similar recovery. This uneven progress threatens to delay global development goals by decades.
The Nordic countries continue to lead global rankings, with Iceland (0.972), Norway (0.970), and Switzerland (0.970) securing the top positions. Their citizens enjoy life expectancies over 82 years, nearly two decades of education, and annual incomes approaching $70,000.
Canada, contrary to Daniel Foch’s tweet above, stands out as one of the success stories, climbing two places to 16th with an index score of 0.939. UN data shows Canada’s HDI value has increased by 8.6% since 1990, with a 5.20-year improvement in life expectancy and a 50.8% rise in per capita income over this period.
This upward trajectory contrasts sharply with countries at the bottom of the index. South Sudan, the lowest-ranked nation, reports life expectancy below 58 years, average schooling under six years, and per capita income of just $688. Countries in the Arab world, Latin America, and the Caribbean have experienced particularly sluggish post-pandemic recoveries.
The HDI, which measures progress in health, education, and income, experienced its first-ever global declines during 2020 and 2021. While some recovery occurred in 2022, the 2023 improvement rate hit the slowest pace on record.
For decades, the global trajectory suggested most nations would reach very high development levels by 2030. The current data indicates this milestone could now take several additional decades.
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