List of African countries by Human Development Index facts for kids

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. It is a standard means of measuring well-being. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. Countries fall into four broad categories based on their HDI: very high, high, medium, and low human development. Currently, Mauritius is the only African country that falls into the very high human development category.

List

African countries by Human Development Index (2020 report, showing 2019 data)

≥ 0.900      0.850–0.899      0.800–0.849      0.750–0.799      0.700–0.749

0.650–0.699      0.600–0.649      0.550–0.599      0.500–0.549

0.450–0.499      0.400–0.449      ≤ 0.399      Data unavailable

The table below presents the latest Human Development Index (HDI) for countries in Africa as included in the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report, released on 8 September 2022 and based on data collected in 2021.

All African UN member states, except for Somalia, are included in the report. Several dependent territories administered by non-African states are also not ranked as they are not included in the latest report. Additionally, the borders and autonomy of Western Sahara are contested so an accurate HDI cannot be determined.

List of African countries by Human Development Index
Rank		Country	Human Development Index (HDI)
Region	World		2021 data (2022 report)​	Average annual growth (2010–2021)​
Very high human development
1	63	Mauritius	0.802	0.55%
High human development
2	72	Seychelles	0.785	0.10%
3	91	Algeria	0.745	0.30%
4	97	Egypt	0.731	0.73%
		Tunisia		0.14%
6	104	Libya	0.718	0.26%
7	109	South Africa	0.713	0.50%
8	112	Gabon	0.706	0.56%
Medium human development
9	117	Botswana	0.693	0.44%
10	123	Morocco	0.683	1.14%
11	128	Cape Verde	0.662	0.25%
12	133	Ghana	0.632	0.88%
13	138	São Tomé and Príncipe	0.618	1.00%
14	139	Namibia	0.615	0.46%
15	144	Eswatini	0.597	1.57%
16	145	Equatorial Guinea	0.596	0.26%
17	147	Zimbabwe	0.593	1.34%
18	148	Angola	0.586	1.27%
19	151	Cameroon	0.576	1.06%
20	152	Kenya	0.575	0.49%
21	153	Republic of the Congo	0.571	0.16%
22	154	Zambia	0.565	0.60%
23	156	Comoros	0.558	0.64%
24	158	Mauritania	0.556	0.79%
25	159	Ivory Coast	0.550	1.38%
Low human development
26	160	Tanzania	0.549	0.98%
27	162	Togo	0.539	1.12%
28	164	Nigeria	0.535	0.95%
29	165	Rwanda	0.534	0.80%
30	166	Benin	0.525	0.59%
		Uganda		0.41%
32	168	Lesotho	0.514	0.88%
33	169	Malawi	0.512	1.06%
34	170	Senegal	0.511	0.80%
35	171	Djibouti	0.509	0.96%
36	172	Sudan	0.508	0.40%
37	173	Madagascar	0.501	0.16%
38	174	Gambia	0.500	0.76%
39	175	Ethiopia	0.498	1.74%
40	176	Eritrea	0.492	0.55%
41	177	Guinea-Bissau	0.483	0.79%
42	178	Liberia	0.481	0.41%
43	179	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.479	1.01%
44	181	Sierra Leone	0.477	1.01%
45	182	Guinea	0.465	1.04%
46	184	Burkina Faso	0.449	1.72%
47	185	Mozambique	0.446	0.95%
48	186	Mali	0.428	0.53%
49	187	Burundi	0.426	0.46%
50	188	Central African Republic	0.404	0.75%
51	189	Niger	0.400	1.54%
52	190	Chad	0.394	0.77%
53	191	South Sudan	0.385	1.00%

See also

• List of African countries by GDP (nominal)
• List of African countries by GDP (PPP)
• List of African countries by GDP (PPP) per capita
• List of African countries by population
• List of countries by Human Development Index
• List of countries by Human Development Index by region
• List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty
• Poverty in Africa