South Korea ranked 19th in the world on the Human Development Index (HDI), a quality-of-life measurement developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
According to the 2023/2024 Human Development Report released by the UNDP on the 13th (local time), South Korea’s HDI was 0.929 in 2022, ranking 19th among the 193 countries and regions surveyed.
This is a one-step improvement from the previous year’s ranking of 20th. Since 2009, South Korea has climbed to 26th. The country has consistently maintained its position among the top-tier countries, hitting 12th in 2010 and 2012.
The HDI is determined based on four objective indicators per country: life expectancy, expected years of schooling, average years of schooling, and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
South Korea’s life expectancy in 2022 was 84 years, with expected and average schooling years of 16.5 and 12.6 years, respectively. According to the UNDP, the per capita GNI was assessed at $46,026 on a Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) basis.
Comparatively, the United States ranked three places lower than South Korea at 20th (0.927 points), with a relatively shorter life expectancy of 78.2 years among developed countries.
While the expected and average years of schooling were similar to those in South Korea, at 16.4 years and 13.6 years, respectively, the per capita GNI was significantly higher, at $65,565.
Switzerland maintained its top position in the HDI rankings this year again. Swiss citizens’ life expectancy and average years of schooling were 0.3 years and 1.3 years longer than those in South Korea, respectively. Although the expected years of schooling were almost identical to those in South Korea, Switzerland ($69,433) significantly outperformed in terms of income.
Following Switzerland, Norway (0.966), Iceland (0.959), Hong Kong (0.956), Denmark (0.952), Sweden (0.952), Germany (0.950), Ireland (0.950), Singapore (0.949), Australia (0.946), and the Netherlands (0.946) were ranked as having high quality of life.
Japan’s HDI score fell to 0.920, two places to 24th place compared to the previous year. China’s score of 0.788 also remained one step lower than the previous year, at 75th place.
The lowest-ranking country out of 193 was Somalia (0.380), South Sudan (0.381), the Central African Republic (0.387), and Niger (0.394) were also evaluated as being in the lowest tier.
North Korea was not ranked due to insufficient information, except its life expectancy of 73.6 years.
The global HDI score for the entire world was 0.739, which appears to have fully recovered to the level before the global outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019 (0.739).
The UNDP stated, “The global HDI score, which had declined for the first time in 2020 (0.736) and 2021 (0.735), has since rebounded and is expected to reach an all-time high in 2023.”
They further predicted, “In 2023, the global HDI score will surpass the level before the pandemic began in 2019 in all evaluation indicators.”
However, the UNDP pointed out that there is a significant gap between developed and underdeveloped countries despite the world’s overall recovery from COVID-19.
As of 2022, all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries recorded higher HDI scores than in 2019. However, more than half of the underdeveloped countries, particularly in Africa, have not recovered from the shock of the pandemic.
Ukraine has been at war for over two years due to Russia’s invasion and recorded its lowest HDI score since 2004 at 0.734 (100th place), plummeting 14 places from the previous year (86th place).
In an interview with AFP, Akim Steiner, Secretary-General of the UNDP, said, “These countries have been trapped in a situation where they can’t put recovery on the agenda, not only because of the combination of the pandemic and economic and financial crises but also due to conflicts.”
Steiner added, “We live in the richest world in human history, yet more people suffer from hunger and poverty than a decade ago.”
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