Countries with the Highest HDI

Name the countries with the best quality of life as measured by Human Development Index.

2021/22 HDI report. Data are from the year 2021.

HDI measures income, life expectancy, and education

Hong Kong is given because it is not a sovereign nation

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Last updated: November 1, 2022

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First submitted	April 18, 2012
Times taken	116,580
Average score	90.0%
Rating	4.96

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HDI	Country
n/a	Monaco
n/a	Vatican City
0.962	Switzerland
0.961	Norway
0.959	Iceland
0.952	Hong Kong
0.951	Australia
0.948	Denmark

HDI	Country
0.947	Sweden
0.945	Ireland
0.942	Germany
0.941	Netherlands
0.940	Finland
0.939	Singapore
0.937	Belgium
0.937	New Zealand

HDI	Country
0.936	Canada
0.935	Liechtenstein
0.930	Luxembourg
0.929	United Kingdom
0.925	Japan
0.925	South Korea
0.921	United States

Level 64

Jul 9, 2012

I'm horrified that the UK didn't make it into the top 20!

Level ∞

Oct 12, 2014

They made it now!

Level 83

Nov 8, 2016

Unlike those filthy Austrians, Belgians, Finns, Taiwanese, Qataris and Luxembourgers... living in squalor. :D If the USA failed to make this list the way they have, you all know what's what people would be saying. Even though it would be no less ridiculous than what I just said.

+25

Level 71

Mar 10, 2018

Those are your words Kalbahamut......... not funny and not clever.

+28

Level 83

Mar 12, 2018

Funny? No, not really. Clever? Debatable. But certainly true. There is a definite double standard, with the US held to a much higher standard than other developed countries. I'm quite sure if, as Kalbahamut says, the US were to narrowly miss out on this list, half the comment section would be crowing. Is it fair? Again, debatable. Perhaps the world's first and only truly democratic superpower should be held to a higher standard. Whatever your answer on that, Kal isn't wrong.

+15

Level 60

Mar 30, 2021

"only true democratic superpower" lmfao sit down. true democracy hardly exists and the US is nowhere near the definition.

Level 83

Mar 30, 2021

Reading comprehension sadly not among the list of super-powers conferred by radioactive spider bites.

Level 74

Jul 18, 2021

Typical snide reply from Jingoist Kal. Nowhere in his comment did Tom evidence lack of comprehension of your words, but all you got is condescending ridicule as a response. Stay murican.

Level 83

Aug 14, 2021

Nothing I've ever said in my life was jingoistic, both you and Tom *clearly* did not understand what I wrote, and you are outing yourself for being the things you hypocritically accuse others of (and throw in a nice little bigoted slur at the end there for good measure, just to make sure we got it). Not a good look. I'd say stay... whatever you are... but... actually, don't. Whatever you represent there should be less of it in the world. Try to change.

Level 33

Nov 29, 2022

Murican is not a slur lmao is that a joke?

Level 83

Dec 1, 2022

It clearly is. And no, it's not a joke. Slur = "a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard." I looked it up for you. You're welcome.

Level 74

Feb 10, 2023

First, I understood perfectly. You constantly belittle other people's intelligence here, don't cry when you get some if you're always dishing it out.

Second, considering you always jump at even the slightest criticism of the US (even if it is valid), or when none is even implied like in the OP, it's perfectly reasonable and accurate to say you're very nationalistic. If you weren't, you wouldn't get butthurt every single time you read even the slightest negative comment about your country.

(continued...)

Level 74

Feb 10, 2023

The problem you seem to have is, like many people in the US, you are blind to it, probably even thinking that you're overall very critical of your country. And maybe you are in some aspects, but the cultural indoctrination is so strong that you just can't see things which are obvious to an outside viewer. This cultural issue, that goes from swearing loyalty to the flag every morning as a kid, to praising your soldiers no matter the justification for the conflicts they're involved in, and includes the need to "defend" your country every single time it receives even the slightest critique, is what I cheekily referred to as "murican". You see, despite what you arrogantly think, I don't talk out of my ass, and when I say something, I have arguments to back it up. "Murican" in this context isn't a slur.

It is obvious from your comments that you look down upon the people you're arguing with, like me. You might want to take some of the advice you're dispensing and get off your high horse.

Level 27

Jul 9, 2012

Surprised the UK isn't on there

Level 68

Jul 9, 2012

Who would have thought that Slovenia would have a higher quality of life than the UK or Ireland?

Level 62

Jul 10, 2012

I'm sure the UK is on here....just done it in Geography and the UK was around 10th......

Level 83

Dec 11, 2013

28th for the quiz year's data. In 2013 they moved up two spots to 26th. Good job.

Level 41

Jul 10, 2012

Go Israel :-)

Level 76

Jul 10, 2012

Ireland has got a higher quality of life...

Level 45

Sep 2, 2020

If that's sarcasm you've obviously never been to Ireland.

Level 32

Jul 10, 2012

The UK isn't there?! Wut?

Level 20

Jul 13, 2012

The UK should be on here - just looked it up, it's listed as #12

Level ∞

Jul 16, 2012

The UK is number 28:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

Level ∞

Oct 3, 2018

Now up to number 13! Nice work UK.

+10

Level 27

Jul 17, 2012

Ok I can't take this data serious at all... I'm from Switzerland and can tell that we definitely have a higher "HDI" than Germany and the U.S.... I don't want to express that this has to influence the quality of a single person, but still, the nation is way more richer than the other two

Level 32

Mar 29, 2017

Way richer, not way more richer

Level 65

Feb 19, 2018

Double comparative notwithstanding, Switzerland is higher than Germany and the U.S. as of this date.

Level 77

Dec 10, 2018

According to my German gut, Switzerland ranks higher than Germany as well.

Level 54

Oct 31, 2020

HDI isn't a measure of wealth, and the gaps between these nations are so tiny anyway. You wouldn't notice the difference.

Level 31

Jul 18, 2012

Hey sorry what, I guess little Switzerland is only good at banking, skiing, and eating chocolate. Doesn't fit in with the big leagues

Level 83

Nov 3, 2013

also making watches, yodeling, making cheese, and hiding Nazi gold.

Level 83

Nov 3, 2013

though in fairness pretty much everybody I know who has ever been to Switzerland absolutely loves the country and lists it at the top or near the top on their list of favorite places.... but... agree with some of the sentiment here that it is enjoyable seeing self-important people being taken down a peg.

+21

Level 71

Jul 12, 2018

Self important people.... pot, kettle....

Level 83

Oct 4, 2018

I'm sorry that you are having trouble separating truthfulness from self importance.

+12

Level 55

Jan 4, 2021

He replied, self-importantly.

Level 83

Feb 15, 2021

thanks for chiming in, clueless hypocrite. We were all waiting with baited breath to see what "Teegthebeeg" had to say on the subject.

+11

Level 60

Mar 30, 2021

just as we were all restlessly waiting for kalbahamut to share his opinion?

Level 83

Mar 30, 2021

see comment above about reading comprehension and super powers. Sad. Very sad.

Level 60

Mar 30, 2021

strawmen in the jetpunk comment section! how delightful.

Level 83

Apr 1, 2021

and... you don't know what a strawman argument is, either. Not surprising. Go back to school, Spider-Man.

Level 88

Oct 4, 2018

And making that chocolate in the shape of a prism.

Level 83

Dec 1, 2022

Since leaving the above comment I've been to Switzerland myself. The reputation it has for being beautiful, affluent, well-developed and pristine is clearly deserved. Though it's not a place I'd personally want to live for various reasons not related to HDI. Were they not on the list before? They're #1 now... maybe they weren't ranked previously.

Level 68

Jul 28, 2012

What's sad is that I'm American and I didn't put my country until about 8 or 9 countries in.. I was like "NORWAY SWEDEN SWITZERLAND" bam bam bam lawl

Surprised about the UK though.

Level 85

Dec 3, 2012

Then you're not a true red blooded patriotic 'Merican.

Level 17

Sep 24, 2020

no one cares

Level 83

Jan 6, 2013

Never really agreed with the HDI... or that high HDI = high quality of life... the criteria they use is so narrow and there are much better things for determining quality of life that they don't even consider like climate, entertainment, culture, and the availability of attractive easy women. But I still got all but 3 of these.

Level 83

Nov 3, 2013

a year later I got 100%. I think Slovenia tripped me up before.

+16

Level 57

Aug 8, 2014

I hope this was partially a joke, but I'll post this anyway. I for one agree with HDI very thoroughly.

Everyone has their own taste in climate. I come from Estonia (think of it as Finland) and I can't stand temperatures above 25 Celsius. Below -25 C is just fine for me.

The cultures of countries are different and it'd be offensive to call some cultures better than others.

One more thing, attractive easy women might lead you to bad situations. Plus they don't work as good as their more intelligent counterparts.

Level 76

Dec 1, 2014

So you're saying that all ugly, moral women are intelligent and hard-working?

Level 83

Dec 1, 2014

It wasn't a joke at all. As a species we are designed to want sex almost as much as air and food and water. If it's easier to have it, this will improve your quality of life. In some societies it has become so difficult to obtain that people have become moralistic prudes who spend a lot of their time spitefully condemning Charlie Sheen and Miley Cyrus for having more interesting lives than they themselves have. It's sad, and as this is a product of the cultures that produce those people I would say this is one of many ways we can objectively measure the worth of those cultures, whether it offends somebody or not. As Sam Harris would say, and he's spent a career thinking about and writing on this subject, not all cultures or belief systems are equally good at producing happiness or contentment. Where we can measure the outcomes we don't have to adopt a relativistic stance on the causes. Saudi culture produce a lot of suicidal young women. Australian, not so much.

Level 69

Jun 20, 2016

I'm not jumping into to the discussion of women, but it is true that climate issues are scientifically proven to have actual effects on mental and physical health that are not tied to personal preference. For instance, sunlight is a proven regulator of mood; people who live in sunlight-deprived locales (either due to latitude or to climate issues such as rain or fog) have higher incidences of depression and alcoholism.

Level 83

Mar 24, 2017

^ yes. and suicide.

Level 71

Mar 30, 2021

While I don't think "climate" should be considered part of development, what samiamco says is true. And what I do think should be part of HDI is mental health. It sounds like the index focuses more on physical well-being, and while in most regards that's pretty high in Western countries, mental health certainly isn't. Just take a look at this: mental health disorders are more common in "developed" countries by a fairly significant margin, which isn't surprising given how high-stress our cultures are.

I'm not saying that I'd rather live in a developing country--I'm pretty happy with my life in America. But just because I'm happy doesn't mean I'm not constantly stressed out. It was pretty eye-opening for me when I went to rural Bangladesh and saw how tranquil life is there, despite the high poverty rates. We could maybe learn a thing or two from that.

Level 83

Apr 2, 2021

not development. But the original title of this quiz was "countries by 'quality of life'"... and it should definitely be a major component of that. The title of the quiz has since changed to reflect what it's actually about and several of my above comments no longer make as much sense as they used to.

+26

Level 46

Dec 3, 2014

You're talking about women as if they were a commodity, which is pretty offensive. Women and men should be considered as equals. You also seem to have a pretty heteronormative way of considering "sex": some men and women might not find that "attractive and easy women" is their heart's desire. It's not about being "prude" or "moralistic", it's about treating women the same way you'd treat men. Sex must be a willing act, where both partners consider each other as equals. You'd need to consider "the availability of attractive and easy men" an equal criterion, and I'm not sure most men (as for women) would agree to be categorized that way. Also, how would you define "easy" and "attractive"? These definitions, and also those of entertainment and culture, will differ in every country, as do political, social and religious constructs. Using a global classification process like the HDI can only use a limited number of criteria, and thus can only rely on observable and comparable data.

Level 83

Dec 4, 2014

I'm not doing what you're saying I'm doing. Your comments here are ridiculous. Women are brainwashed by patriarchal male-dominated society, where they are treated as property and commodities only good for marriage and must therefore preserve their sale value by remaining chaste and pure, in many places. By subscribing to the values of those cultures you are more guilty than I could ever be of reducing women to objects. The availability of quality bachelors, or attractive easy men (though, really, where in the world are men NOT easy? That's irrelevant) certainly are valid criteria and should be considered, though this isn't important to me personally.

You've got a point about attractiveness being subjective, though it can still be measured by consensus opinion. Not that that's going to be the best way for an individual. They can make that assessment themselves. Access to fulfilling sexual/dating/romantic opportunities can also be measured, as can sex-aversion/neuroticism.

+11

Level 68

Aug 5, 2016

Weird.

Level 83

Mar 24, 2017

thanks

Level 58

Feb 27, 2021

hey kalbahamut im a big fan, but this was a huge miss :(

Level 83

Mar 30, 2021

Just because it doesn't conform to the ideas you've been programmed by society and culture to understand and accept as valid doesn't mean it was a miss. I stand by what I said.

Level 59

Mar 30, 2021

Jetpunk is so cool. I can literally read arguments from 8 years ago that are still ongoing.

+12

Level 60

Mar 30, 2021

this comment is just as deplorable now as it was 8 years ago and the fact that your stance hasn't changed in that time really says a lot about you personally. for someone who travels around a lot, you sure have a narrow worldview.

Level 83

Mar 30, 2021

person 1 has a view on a topic that is the product of extensive travel, experience, study, and personal enlightenment. One that does not match the conventional "wisdom" of any one place, time, or culture; but rather transcends them all and comes closer to approaching truth than any.

person 2, petty, petulant, adversarial, angry, insecure, the sort who lashes out at others online he disagrees with because of all of the above (or thinks he disagrees with, as he's not especially good at reading), has a view on same topic that is entirely conventional, the product of the time and place he was born, irrevocably shackled to his own culture.

person 2 calls person 1's worldview "narrow"...

smh...

Level 71

Mar 30, 2021

I won't accuse you of having a narrow worldview, but saying that you're closer to the "truth" than anyone else? That's silly. Your views of right and wrong are exactly as important as mine--which is to say they're entirely subjective and only really affect our own consciences in the end. I genuinely respect that you are willing to share your experiences and your knowledge with us--I know I've learned a lot from reading your comments--but please don't act like everything you believe in is automatically true and that people are wrong if they disagree with you.

Level 83

Apr 1, 2021

Fair enough. Am I wrong? Prove me wrong through argumentation. I'm confident that you cannot (on this subject, I'm plenty ignorant on other subjects), but I'm willing to listen if you try. I've been wrong before. On the other hand... call someone's view on a subject "narrow"... when it does not conform to any one time or place and in fact goes against everything that we are indoctrinated to believe from birth onward and thus could only be arrived at through contemplation and protracted synthesis? (when the person issuing this insult obviously has not done that) That will make you look foolish.

Level 83

Apr 1, 2021

I also disagree that right and wrong are subjective. Different argument, though... but I can make a strong case for my opinion.

Level 71

Apr 2, 2021

Fair enough. I disagree with your argument, but I'll also concede that don't have any strong rationale/enough experience to make my case. Since there's no hard data or proven correlation behind attractiveness and quality of life (unless you can find some for me), I'd say this is pretty subjective and based on what people value. Personally, I don't think that sex is the one of the most important requirements for a good life, but I also think that's kinda hard to prove one way or another. And your arguments make sense, even if I don't agree with them.

(Ironically, I'm posting this comment on the same day I'm set to learn about "attractiveness" in my Social Psych class. Maybe I'll learn something!)

Level 62

May 17, 2022

I think Kal phrased his argument in a poor manner but I agree with him. Rather than using "beautiful and easy women" as a metric, perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that cultures that are more liberal when it comes to sex/relationships are happier. Humans are biologically hard wired to be social, part of that involves entering into relationships with people you are attracted to. Looking at countries such as India/Saudi Arabia, where they don't have the same culture regarding sex/relationships, I think it's fair to say that young women aren't very happy with the status quo.

Level 83

Nov 28, 2022

I sometimes enjoy saying observably true things in a way that I know will trigger an emotional, irrational, knee-jerk (but rhetorically indefensible) reaction from people.

I understand how to say the same thing using different words in a way that would be almost universally accepted, even applauded, it's not that I'm bad with words.... but.... I just also think it's silly that people get so worked up over semantics and word connotations without caring about what is true or what the words actually mean, that virtually nobody is capable of logical or rational reflection when they are thus triggered, and that as a result almost none of us can be truly honest and just say what we mean; we have to constantly tiptoe around eggshells trying to find inoffensive and socially acceptable ways to convey some portion of a similar idea. Often tiresome, sometimes amusing.

Probably has something to do with being on the spectrum.

Level 58

Nov 28, 2022

It's not really that deep, its just upsetting that you were talking about women as if they were objectively inferior to men

Level 83

Dec 1, 2022

I assure you I wasn't and never have done this, as it's not something I have ever believed. If anything I used to believe that women were generally superior to men (and have since decided that all humans generally speaking are equally crappy). Anyway, if you read this implication in the above or any other comments I have made, the implication is in your head. Certainly I do not believe that being sexually open or positive makes one inferior (if that's where you got this from)... quite the contrary. Perhaps you should evaluate your own implicit biases when it comes to this subject and how you view people who are.

Level 36

Feb 21, 2013

Missed Leichtenstein and Slovenia...

Level 48

Apr 3, 2013

Take it easy guys, I'm sure this list is not 100% because that's impossible. Also, it would be silly to make generalizations about countries without having lived right throughout the country and making an accurate and objective judgement. Otherwise I'm very glad to see Australia at no.2 :)

Level 34

May 4, 2013

100% Too easy.

Level 54

Oct 31, 2020

Are we supposed to include Nauru and Guinea-Bissau on this list to make it harder?

Level 21

May 31, 2013

The fact that Ireland finally makes it onto an elite list that the UK doesn't... Go Ireland!

Level 56

Jun 2, 2013

I'm so happy the UK isn't on here

Level 77

May 7, 2020

It is now, buster.

Level 53

Sep 22, 2013

got Slovenia but missed Israel :|

Level 35

Nov 29, 2013

Got all with 40 sec left.

Level 78

Jun 1, 2014

I am surprised Finland isn't there. All the other nordic countries are.

Level 36

Mar 26, 2017

Gets Iceland [Tiny Voice] Yaaaaaaaay

Level 66

Nov 11, 2014

How could I miss South Korea?

Level 44

Dec 1, 2014

No Holland for Netherlands? No Korea for South Korea? Just saying.

Level 25

Dec 1, 2014

I understand the Holland one, but there are two Koreas

Level 66

Jan 22, 2019

Why? It is as wrong as calling america 'murica (though the words come from different places, so not comparible in every way, but equally wrong)

Level ∞

Dec 1, 2014

To be consistent with our other quizzes, Holland will work now. (Even though it's wrong).

Level 66

Jan 22, 2019

Why not just scrap it instead if perpetuating this..

Level 54

Dec 1, 2014

I am somewhat concerned that Austria is not there - which is where I live. Maybe the fact that there is STILL no complete smoking ban affects their rating. Honestly there is no excuse.

Level ∞

Dec 1, 2014

Austria is #21. They are #13 in "inequality-adjusted" HDI, while the US falls to #28.

Level 35

Feb 27, 2023

I'm sure Australia fall a long way on that thanks to how the system treats our indigenous inhabitants

Level 33

Dec 1, 2014

Notice how none of the primarily muslim middle eastern countries made the list.

Level 72

Jun 5, 2017

Many Islamic countries aren't poor --- Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE are all oil-rich countries. Although they may not be first-world countries, that doesn't mean that they aren't rich. If you really think that countries are being held back because of their religion, then you really have no idea how the world works.

Level 74

Jan 24, 2019

I think you'll find that religion, or more specifically, interpretation of that religion, is a major reason why most Islamic countries don't make lists like these. Some of the oil rich middle eastern nations do have immense wealth, but it is not distributed across the population very equitably. Similar for other criteria like education, healthcare and democratic freedoms (especially for women)

Level 30

Apr 6, 2021

All those countries you mentioned are rich but because they are largely Islamic republics, they do indeed fail to reach a respective HDI due to their staunch wealth distribution and poor democracy, law, and human rights. So yeah, if they are Islamic countries, they do tend do to rather poorly. Of course there are countries with a majority Muslim population that seperate religion from the state to a fair degree like Turkey or Albania but these countries lack wealth and general living standards unfortnuately.

Level 48

Nov 6, 2022

This is pretty untrue. This list is ranking off of base HDI. The highest ranking conservative Muslim country is the UAE with an HDI of 0.911, only 5 spots from being on this list and higher than France and Spain. Other high ranking conservative Muslim countries are Bahrain (0.875), Saudi Arabia (0.875), Qatar (0.855), Kuwait (0.831), Brunei (0.829), and Oman (0.816). If we're talking about inequality adjusted HDI (IHDI), it would be a different story because these countries all have high rates of inequality, which is completely irrelevant to their religion.

Level 25

Dec 1, 2014

I'm quite surprised the USA is so high seeing as they hardly get any holidays from work plus all the foreigners doing cheap labour.

Level 83

Dec 1, 2014

Holidays and number of foreigners are not part of the criteria for determining HDI. Why would the latter matter, anyway? Isn't the fact that the USA attracts millions more immigrants than any other country in the world sort of proof that they have high standards of living there? Other people want to go to the country and live and work there even if it means picking berries. I knew undocumented day workers in Virginia who made upwards of $20-$25 an hour working in the USA. Twelve years ago. Compare that to Saudi Arabia where the average Bengali floor sweeper earns $80 a month, or the average educated and qualified Filipina nurse makes at best $1000 a month, and you can see (part of) why it's such a desirable destination for immigrants.

Level 25

Dec 2, 2014

For things like this they should separate the UK up

Level 82

Nov 22, 2015

If they did that, they would probably have to put all the US states separately as well, seeing as there are probably more differences between some states than there are between the countries of the UK.

Level 52

Mar 28, 2017

Not to mention Australia and Canada. Oh, and Spain and France. Come on, practically every big country has diverse regions.

Level 14

Dec 4, 2014

Yep, Norway! Suck it people! (Only kidding)

Level 35

Dec 28, 2014

HDI and Quality of Life aren't the same things... there are separate rankings for these

Level 66

Jan 22, 2015

Only missed Israel.

Level 27

Feb 25, 2015

Unreal! I simply cannot believe Ireland and Iceland make this list. Both are on the verge of bankruptcy and Ireland in particular has all sorts of social ills, mostly related to religious issues. Japan has a lot of economic issues in recent years, too. I admit to being surprised.

By the way, I had a problem with this quiz. It wouldn't show Norway, even though I tried typing it three times. But after my time was up, it showed I *had* got it. Just a glitch, I guess.

Level 69

Jun 20, 2016

I can't explain Ireland, but I do know that Iceland has something like a 98% literacy rate, and education very heavily weighted in the HDI.

Level 60

Mar 30, 2021

Ireland has a life expectancy of 82 years, a GNI of $70,000, 18 expected years of education. It ranks highly on both the inequality-adjusted HDI as well as the GDI, it's earned its place on this list through recent developments. Not that it's perfect or anything, as the poisons of the Catholic Church still linger in parts of society, particularly among the older generations and our GII is lacking. The efficacy of our education system comes into question too, but Ireland more than meets the criteria for being on this list, hence its (currently) high position, and I'm willing to bet it was reasonably high in 2015 too.

Level 48

Mar 11, 2015

I'm surprised that there is no Austria and Belgium.

Level 86

Nov 18, 2015

Tied for 21 at the moment. Top 30 does not seem to be very stable with countries quite often slipping in and out the top 20.

Level 64

Nov 15, 2015

If you notice, all these countries are American allies or pro-Western in some way. I suppose the USA is in fact not the "Great Satan".

Level 16

Aug 24, 2017

-_- Because Western countries or countries in contact with the west are very modern, they have good life expectancies. People always put down western society as if there's a better society. Sure, there may be some OK countries sprinkled around, but look at Africa, most of Asia, and South America.

+12

Level 49

Aug 6, 2018

That's partly because western countries have exploited others for so long. And also being an American ally has very little to do with it. If, say, Germany, suddenly decided to cut ties with the USA, then their HDI would likely not go down.

Level 84

Nov 17, 2015

What, no Vatican City?

Level 54

Oct 31, 2020

The Popes live in squalor.

Level 22

Jan 27, 2016

I got em all :D

Level 22

Feb 21, 2016

Was totally going to type "Australia" and then thought, "no, not Australia." I'm so mad!

Level 68

Aug 5, 2016

That is madness! Got them all WooHoo.

Level 31

Jun 3, 2016

I'm surprised the USA is so far above and Japan is so low. I guess it is to do with GDP but still....

Level 42

Sep 5, 2016

at 0.892 does Luxembourg not make the list?

Level 73

Nov 8, 2016

Seems the data is a little outdated. The latest table on Wikipedia shows a slightly different ranking and even gives no-UN scores for Monaco and San Marino which would come in at 1 and 7 in the list.

Level 36

Nov 8, 2016

I don't get how Israel beat France

Level 71

Nov 8, 2016

Although interesting, this quiz is nigh on useless as facts go. 0.06 is the difference between first and last. I've lived and worked in six of these countries and have stayed and travelled through many others. There is no country listed that has managed to give the 'Best Quality of Life' to all it's people, on the contrary, where many people live in luxury and with all the chances there are many with nothing for assets and no chance to better themselves.

Level 85

Mar 22, 2017

Wow, this quiz seems to inspire loads of heated commentary. So let me be the first 2017 commenter. What happened to Slovenia this year? I was just there and it's as beautiful, friendly and developed as ever...

Level ∞

Mar 22, 2017

The HDI numbers keep going up. So a country can fall off the list if its HDI doesn't increase as fast as others.

Level 89

Mar 23, 2017

Otherwise known as "List of Countries I Would Have No Qualms About Visiting".

Level 57

Mar 24, 2017

Israel and South Korea higher than Finland?

Level 48

Mar 24, 2017

When it's 2 or 4 thousandths (hundredths?) of a percent does it matter?

Level 67

Mar 24, 2017

Does anyone have any insight into why Monaco is not on this list? Very surprising.

Level 76

Mar 24, 2017

Read the earlier comments. It didn't generate enough data to be included on the list.

Level 72

Mar 24, 2017

Missed Israel :(

Level 65

Mar 24, 2017

Don't see too many religious countries on here...hmmmm....

Level 22

Mar 26, 2017

Or that many black or Arab countries. Makes you wonder.

Level 60

Mar 30, 2021

wonder about the lingering effects of colonialism that took place centuries ago? sure does!

Level 30

Apr 6, 2021

Yeah, Hong Kong and Singapore are really feeling those colonial effects. lol.

Level 61

Nov 28, 2022

Well, obviously some places that were colonized are going to propsper — but the fact is, most former colonies are still feeling the effects of imperialism.

Level 57

Mar 24, 2017

Aussie Aussie Aussie!

Level 74

Mar 24, 2017

Glad to see the UK back on the list.

Why aren't microstates like Monaco/Andorra etc or rich oil states like Qatar/Bahrain on here though? Why doesn't their wealth correlate to their HDI? I'm sure there are reasons, but I don't know enough about these places to guess why.

Level 83

Mar 24, 2017

Bahrain is not very oil rich. Their oil has been exhausted and currently their economy, as far as I can tell, depends mostly on Russian, Chinese, and Moroccan prostitutes servicing the young Saudi men who flood across the causeway every weekend. They've also got some shopping malls and an F1 track but that's about it.

Qatar, Kuwait and the Emirates are more wealthy and have more oil but I think education and life expectancy lag behind wages in these countries, which could negatively impact their HDI score.

Level 74

Mar 25, 2017

Interesting, thanks

Level 83

Oct 4, 2018

I've been told by my friends who are still in Bahrain that some of the most notorious brothotels in Hoora have either closed up shop or gotten rid of the working girls on the premises, and now that they are allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia and they started opening up movie theaters there, too, Saudi weekend tourism to Bahrain has dropped dramatically. The island nation's economy might be in serious trouble over the next few years.

Level 65

Mar 24, 2017

UK will be back off the list next time...a nation going backwards

Level 79

Mar 10, 2018

That's my guess too, but I hope I'm proved wrong. Either way, it's a good test of the Brexit decision.

Level 77

Feb 12, 2021

On the contrary, the United Kingdom's HDI score has been increasing year-on-year, and now has overtaken the United States'.

Level 5

Mar 24, 2017

Roosa from Finland

This the right order:

1 Norway

2 Australia

3. Denmark

4. Switzerland

5. Canada

6. Sweden

7. New-Zealand

8. Finland

9. United States

10. Iceland

11. Netherlands

Level 61

Mar 24, 2017

That's your opinion. This is based on statistics.

(From Wikipedia) The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income per capita indicators. A country scores higher HDI when the life expectancy at birth is longer, the education period is longer, and the income per capita is higher. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an underdeveloped country.

Level 66

Jan 22, 2019

Uhm im pretty sure it is not just her opinion. Too detailed list and not an order you'd expect if someone told their personal preferences.

just because she didnt post her source doesnt mean it is an opinion. (Perhaps it is simply the latest data of the source you quoted, or another place that has more recent data than wikipedia)

Level 55

Jan 4, 2021

See Hitchen's razor...

Hitchens' razor is an epistemological razor expressed by writer Christopher Hitchens. It says that the burden of proof regarding the truthfulness of a claim lies with the one who makes the claim; if this burden is not met, then the claim is unfounded, and its opponents need not argue further in order to dismiss it

Level 71

Mar 26, 2017

Otherwise I'd forget luxembourg and liechtenstein existed.. I'll show myself out ;

Level 60

Jul 4, 2017

Monaco and San Marino have yet to be official scored due to a lack of information, but Monaco is estimated in 2014 to be 1.074 and San Marino is estimated to be around 0.875.

Level 54

Oct 12, 2020

Isn't 1.000 the upper bound?

Level 69

Dec 25, 2020

No it is not, the HDI formula is just adjusted all several years such that it is really hard to exceed 1.000.

Level 38

Sep 29, 2018

GO NORWAY!!!

Level 71

Oct 4, 2018

Since Monaco made the list, I'm assuming that the number of Ferraris and yachts owned per capita figures highly into the HDI.

Level ∞

Oct 30, 2018

If I owned Monaco's soccer team, I'd rename them the Monaco Monocles to reflect the nation's proud culture as a tax haven for the megarich.

Level 68

Oct 30, 2018

Description says 20 but there's 22 answers!

Level ∞

Oct 30, 2018

Removed the number from the description.

Level 64

Dec 10, 2018

I'm used to the EIU report for HDI, surprised to see how different the UN report is!

Level 45

Dec 10, 2018

I'm not completely suprised France isn't here, but I am suprised the UK and US could get in and we couldn't. I'm sure they cheated the test !

(Disclaimer : I am kidding.)

Level 49

Nov 30, 2022

France isn't here because it has quite low mean years of schooling for a developed country. Education is 1/3 of the index. It actually scores higher than the UK in health (life expectancy) and the economy.

Level 65

Dec 10, 2018

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland are all doing nicely without full EU membership. Take note UK.

Level 60

Dec 11, 2018

Yes but Norway and Iceland are in the EEA and Switzerland doesn't do passport check if someone passes through their borders so...take note UK.

Level 30

Sep 6, 2020

Ahem *brexit*

Level 68

Dec 11, 2018

Got them all with no wrong attempts. Good guessing!

Level 57

Jan 27, 2019

Got them all; Great Quiz! Another quiz with Human Capital, check this out, too:

Human Capital Index - Top 25 Nations

Level 48

Mar 23, 2019

Vatican not doing so good?

Level 83

Oct 1, 2019

Since the well-being of children is such an important component of HDI and there aren't any children born in the Vatican I assume they don't even bother ranking them.

Level 43

Oct 6, 2019

Got all except Iceland. Nice play, icy boys

Level 55

May 7, 2020

I am honestly a bit surprised Hong Kong is higher than the Netherlands (and other countries, but I can only speak for HK and the NL). I have lived in both places and I absolutely love both, but just the housing situation alone in HK shouldn't give them such a high spot. A lot of people have to live in really small appartments (whereas they'd live in bigger and better appartments or most probably even houses in the Netherlands), which decreases the quality of life a bit I'd say. I hope the HK government will set up a good housing plan like Singapore did, but as we can see these days they barely care their residents anyways unfortunately :/

Level 55

Jun 2, 2020

I'm so surprised about the placement of a country like Japan relative to Hong Kong- based solely on overcrowding and political disunity in Hong Kong, I would have placed Japan much higher.

Level 49

Nov 26, 2020

Only missed Ireland :)

Level 81

Dec 24, 2020

Haha i never expected Slovenia here. It certainly doesn't translate to happiness 😃

Level 49

Apr 5, 2021

What do you mean with that? Why wouldn't you expect Slovenia here?

Level 85

Dec 24, 2020

So here we are in 2020, and still, the haunting visions of the despairing slums of Luxembourg are keeping them off the list...

Level 84

Dec 24, 2020

Your source puts Liechtenstein above Slovenia.

Level ∞

Dec 24, 2020

Fixed

Level 77

Dec 25, 2020

Interesting fact: 11 out of the 20 countries with the best quality of life are nominally Monarchies. Obviously, it can't be that bad to have a king or queen (or prince or emperor or ...)

Level 76

Dec 25, 2020

There is this saying: A good king is better than a bad democracy.

A bad king, however... Nominally = risk management.

Level 65

Feb 2, 2021

Most of these monarchies the monarchs (head of state) have almost no power. The power lies inside the parliamentary system and most of them are chosen by a plural vote or something very similar.

Level 57

Mar 30, 2021

I typed Monaco 17 times before realizing this is a different quiz.

Level 60

Mar 30, 2021

Really Israel is above Luxembourg???? That's strange

Level 57

Mar 30, 2021

I imagine luxembourg is barely off the list. Israel has a good healthcare system, keep in mind right now they have the highest percent of people vaccinated in the world

Level 20

Apr 2, 2021

isn't isreal the highest?

Level 70

Mar 30, 2021

If you are going to give San Marino, Monaco etc, then either give Liechtenstein as well or remove the others please.

Level 60

Mar 30, 2021

i don't think you understand why they're there.

Level 37

Apr 1, 2021

He's not giving those three, values are not available. Not the same thing.

Level 47

Mar 30, 2021

Norway is #1 in the world, eh? That must explain why they have such a massive illegal immigration problem.

Level 70

Jul 6, 2021

Source?

Level 22

Mar 30, 2021

Northern Europe always be on their A-Game

Level 31

Mar 30, 2021

They're the best when it comes to things like this.

Level 43

Mar 31, 2021

I expect that the quality of life is going to significantly go down for Hong Kong in the coming years. So sad :(

Level 20

Apr 2, 2021

why

Level 61

Dec 4, 2022

China is absorbing Hong Kong

Level 20

Apr 2, 2021

how come luxembourg isnt't in the list？

Level 30

Apr 6, 2021

As someone who has lived in Ireland and Switzerland. Switzerland should be waaay higher. I don't really understand how they did this. Also, no Andorra??

Level 42

May 14, 2022

Andorra is 36th behind Poland.

Level 83

May 17, 2022

This seems bizarre to me. I stopped in Andorra for lunch recently... the whole country seems like Vail or Aspen... how the heck could it have lower HDI than Poland?

Level 45

Sep 9, 2022

I don't really know either, as I am Irish and have been to Switzerland. I saw that in Switzerland everything was beautiful, and all the lakes and rivers were so clean even in the city centre, and everyone seemed happy enough, but it was very expensive so maybe they dropped down because of affordability? Ireland is pretty expensive too though but definitively not as so as Switzerland.

Level 54

Aug 14, 2021

luxembourg ??

Level 64

Aug 14, 2021

My thoughts exactly

Level 64

Aug 14, 2021

Got Switzerland and Iceland with 26 seconds remaining

Level 40

Oct 27, 2022

Lol, I missed out of all countries United States and Israel. I was thinking about both, but assumed that given their security and government stability problems those will be somewhere between 20-30 and did not even bother to type them... :D

Level 40

Oct 27, 2022

And to be honest, I still have difficulties believing, these countries can be there, while Belgium, Luxembourg, South Korea or Estonia are not. The HDI is a bit weird metric.

Level 78

Nov 1, 2022

3 out of those 4 just got added with the latest update.

Level 68

Nov 1, 2022

Well the update made you more correct lol

Level 68

Nov 1, 2022

Wow, the USA has fallen to 20th. I wonder if it will make it to next year's

Level 73

Nov 28, 2022

i hate switzerland

Level 58

Nov 28, 2022

why lol

Level 65

Nov 28, 2022

What’s not to love about mountains and trains?

Level 73

Nov 28, 2022

Is there a quiz for inequality-adjusted HDI? I think that'd be more revealing than this.

Level 50

Nov 28, 2022

Alternate Title: Western Countries

Level 62

Nov 28, 2022

Why not Austria?

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