List of African countries by Human Development Index

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, Seychelles is the only African country that falls into the very high human development category. Somalia has the lowest HDI in both Africa and the world according to the list.

List edit

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 13 March 2024 and based on data collected in 2024. ^[1]

As of 2024, All African UN member states are included in the report. Several dependent territories administered by non-African states are not ranked as they are not included in the latest report. Additionally, the borders and autonomy of Western Sahara are contested ^[2] so an accurate HDI cannot be determined.

List of African countries by Human Development Index
Rank		Country	Human Development Index (HDI)
Region	World	Country	2022 data (2024 report)	Change in HDI value 2023-2024 ^[3]
Very high human development
1	67	Seychelles	0.802	0.007
High human development
2	72	Mauritius	0.796	0.006
3	92	Algeria	0.745	0.005
4	101	Tunisia	0.732	0.003
5	105	Egypt	0.728	0.002
6	109	Libya	0.718
7	110	South Africa	0.717	0.004
8	114	Botswana	0.708	0.028
Medium human development
9	120	Morocco	0.698	0.010
11	123	Gabon	0.693	0.006
12	131	Cape Verde	0.661	0.011
13	133	Equatorial Guinea	0.650	0.003
14	141	São Tomé and Príncipe	0.613	0.008
15	142	Eswatini	0.610	0.002
15	142	Namibia	0.610	0.006
17	145	Ghana	0.602	0.002
18	146	Kenya	0.601	0.005
19	149	Republic of the Congo	0.593	0.005
20	150	Angola	0.591	0.001
21	151	Cameroon	0.587	0.006
22	152	Comoros	0.586	0.001
23	153	Zambia	0.569	0.004
23	159	Uganda	0.550	0.005
23	159	Zimbabwe	0.550	0.001
Low human development
25	161	Nigeria	0.548	0.006
25	161	Rwanda	0.548	0.009
28	163	Togo	0.547	0.002
29	164	Mauritania	0.534	0.002
30	166	Ivory Coast	0.534	0.004
31	167	Tanzania	0.532	0.003
32	168	Lesotho	0.521	0.001
33	169	Senegal	0.517	0.005
34	170	Sudan	0.516
35	171	Djibouti	0.515	0.003
36	172	Malawi	0.508	0.001
37	173	Benin	0.504	0.002
38	174	Gambia	0.495	0.005
39	175	Eritrea	0.493	0.003
40	176	Ethiopia	0.492	0.003
40	177	Liberia	0.487	0.003
40	177	Madagascar	0.487	0.003
43	179	Guinea-Bissau	0.483	0.001
44	180	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.481	0.006
45	181	Guinea	0.472	0.004
46	183	Mozambique	0.461	0.002
47	184	Sierra Leone	0.458	0.002
48	185	Burkina Faso	0.438	0.007
49	187	Burundi	0.420	0.001
50	188	Mali	0.410	0.002
50	189	Chad	0.394	0.001
50	189	Niger	0.394	0.005
53	191	Central African Republic	0.387
54	192	South Sudan	0.381
55	193	Somalia	0.380	N/A^[1]