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U.S. States with the Lowest HDI

Name the 10 states of the U.S. that have the lowest Human Development Index.
For the year 2021. Source: Wikipedia.
HDI measures income, life expectancy, and education
Quiz by Jiaozira
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Last updated: April 3, 2024
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First submittedJuly 5, 2016
Times taken26,766
Average score70.0%
Rating4.45
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HDI
State
0.866
Mississippi
0.877
West Virginia
0.881
Alabama
0.881
Arkansas
0.884
Kentucky
HDI
State
0.888
Louisiana
0.893
South Carolina
0.895
Tennessee
0.896
Oklahoma
0.901
New Mexico
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38 Comments
Quizmaster
+54
Level ∞
Oct 3, 2018
Before anyone gets too excited, keep in mind that Mississippi has a higher HDI than Andorra, Portugal, and Croatia.
kolp
+36
Level 87
Oct 5, 2018
Doubt this is actually true for Andorra. Likely a data issue. Having a higher HDI than the other two countries is not that impressive to be frank.
kalbahamut
+21
Level 81
Dec 11, 2018
It wasn't meant to be impressive.
Fresco3
+5
Level 68
Dec 11, 2018
Agreed Portugal is one of the poorer countries in Western Europe and Croatia is in Eastern Europe and, whilst its one of the more developed countries in Eastern Europe, it’s still Eastern Europe...
marez
+41
Level 62
Dec 29, 2019
Stats or not, I'd rather live in Portugal than Mississippi tbh
pierrehommey
+1
Level 51
Jul 10, 2020
Definitly lol i don't think many people would say otherwise
Polandball6
+3
Level 46
Jul 13, 2024
as someone from Mississippi it makes me sad to see this the only quiz where 80% of players know of the state but its not in a good criteria but were not as bad as we seem and that's the proof right there
Darnath
+2
Level 43
Jul 13, 2024
Do not worry, I'm from Europe, and as a french speaker, let me tell you that "A really love The Magnolia State".

Love the South !

abethecop1
+5
Level 29
Jul 13, 2024
Life expectancy average:

Portugal - 81.07 (2021)

Andorra - 81.2 (2017)

Croatia - 79.18 (2023)

Mississippi - 71.9

Sources:

https://datacommons.org/place/country/PRT

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-11-01/andorrans-live-the-longest-heres-how

https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/HRV/croatia/life-expectancy

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/life_expectancy/life_expectancy.htm

grantdon
+1
Level 74
Jul 14, 2024
I'd be interested if median rather than average income was used in the calculation. The US states probably wouldn't change much but national index values possibly would
Polandball6
+1
Level 46
Jul 14, 2024
were doing HDI not Life expectency
seekknowledge
+1
Level 45
Jul 16, 2024
Life expectancy is one of the parameters of the Human Development Index.
Polandball6
+1
Level 46
Jul 19, 2024
how exactly
DocEckleburg
+1
Level 57
Jul 15, 2024
Doesn't seem to be the case anymore, Portugal and Croatia up to 0.874 and 0.878 respectively, although I can't find anything on Mississippi more recent than 2021 so they may have gone up too.

Worth pointing out though that anything over 0.8 is considered very high.

WT2008
+24
Level 77
Oct 4, 2018
So many red states on this list.
caribdevist
+3
Level 61
Oct 7, 2018
Gee willikers.
Quizmaster
+47
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2018
The same states that rank at the bottom of HDI today would have ranked near the bottom 100 years ago as well. Initial conditions explain the difference, not partisan political squabbles.
jmellor13
+32
Level 67
Dec 11, 2018
I feel like that is an oversimplification, but I appreciate your efforts to keep this non-partisan.
TWM03
+12
Level 70
Dec 12, 2018
The causation is probably the other way round. Poorer states are more likely to vote Republican, probably because they are poorer.
wuqijun
+11
Level 79
May 22, 2019
It's because of racial discrimination. Black people make a lot less than white people. These southern states have a higher percentage of black people than the other ones.
Nickelz
+6
Level 67
Apr 3, 2024
that's a huge oversimplification
rabble
+2
Level 68
Jul 13, 2024
A state's education performance data is insightful

Georgia's (GOSA) is available for 23-24. About 75% of black students failed to meet proficiency in English. More in Math, Science, and Social Studies

For "End of Course" tests (9-12? Just 12?) - 20% were proficient or better in Algebra I. 15%-30% in the remaining categories: Lit/Bio/US.Hist

TBF, only 37% of Georgian (high school) students were proficient or better at Coordinate Algebra

Discipline records, chronic absenteeism, etc. are also usually available. The largest group among Georgian students is Black, at 44% of the discipline incidents

I have found that failing to qualify myself for Algebra 1, and choosing to cause half of the violence in my community, is often inconducive to outperforming my peers for the next 3-5 decades. Or as some people refer to it- racial discrimination

These are things that contribute to the common perception of a low HDI society

I'd be interested in seeing the data for the states on this list

JonOfKent
+11
Level 57
Dec 2, 2020
I read somewhere recently - perhaps it was one of those "interesting facts" on this website? - that in Britain, people with Norman surnames are on average 10% richer than the rest of us. The passing of a thousand years hasn't eradicated that particular inequality. Compared to that, one century ago is the recent past.
hasanabdi
+2
Level 69
Nov 4, 2022
names don't mean that you're gonna be richer, that norman fact is probably just a similarity that you'd find when comparing any random statistics
HydratedMite
+4
Level 67
Oct 22, 2023
I think it's because a Norman family a long time ago was rich, so their descendants were as well.
Nickelz
+2
Level 67
Apr 3, 2024
It's cute that you think politics have nothing to do with it
Polandball6
+1
Level 46
Jul 13, 2024
History should not define modern economics
kalbahamut
+12
Level 81
Dec 11, 2018
No surprises here.
TurkeyCookTime
+3
Level 79
Feb 24, 2021
Jeez I had to type "South Carolina" with only one second remaining. I think I must have been only a few tenths of a second away from the time running out.
Toinfinity
+3
Level 44
Apr 21, 2022
Oops, I spent the first 30 seconds typing countries in Africa before realizing it was about states.
HottestPakiEver
+3
Level 52
Aug 28, 2022
Main reason is because of the poverty within the large black community in the South.
FlabberBapper
+3
Level 75
Jul 13, 2024
As my professor from Arkansas once said in regards to Arkansas, "thank God for Mississippi"
NotaRealPerson
+1
Level 54
Jul 13, 2024
Surprised by New Mexico, must be all the aliens and meth
Thrasymachos
+5
Level 37
Jul 13, 2024
It's mostly due to the precarious living conditions of Native Americans actually.
cocachiantos
+1
Level 70
Aug 16, 2024
New Mexico has very low wages overall
battlebo25
+1
Level 60
Jul 15, 2024
I know average income is only a single factor of the HDI, but it seems to me that it's not weighed too accurately. Like, if State A's average income is 1.5x the average income of State B, but housing, taxes, food, etc. cost 2x in State A, I would think that speaks to the actual quality of life far greater than just average income. Wouldn't "income:cost-of-living" be a better metric? Or am I just misunderstanding how HDI works?
wormgod209
+2
Level 34
Jul 15, 2024
Off the top of my head, the Human Development Index (HDI) is calculated using three key dimensions: health, education, and standard of living. Health is measured by life expectancy at birth, while education is assessed through the average years of schooling for adults and expected years of schooling for children. Standard of living is evaluated using Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP). In essence, income factors into the HDI by contributing to this standard of living measure, reflecting the overall economic well-being of a population.
Jiaozira
+1
Level 71
Jul 15, 2024
Good explanation. Purchasing Power Parity helps to equalise the measurements some.
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