Ten Highest HDI Countries in Africa

Name the 10 African countries with the highest quality of life as measured by the Human Development Index.

2021/2022 HDI Report. Data from the year 2021.

HDI measures income, life expectancy, and education

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Last updated: November 2, 2022

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First submitted	April 22, 2014
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Average score	70.0%
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HDI	Population	Country
0.802	1.30 mil	Mauritius
0.785	0.106 mil	Seychelles
0.745	43.8 mil	Algeria
0.731	12.2 mil	Tunisia
0.731	108 mil	Egypt

HDI	Population	Country
0.718	6.70 mil	Libya
0.713	59.1 mil	South Africa
0.706	2.32 mil	Gabon
0.693	2.57 mil	Botswana
0.683	37.5 mil	Morocco

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81 Comments

Level 61

Mar 27, 2017

So, why do the island nations have highest HDI? No nearby states to war with?

+81

Level 53

Jun 19, 2017

No nearby wars + a good tourist industry + smaller population I guess

Level 77

Dec 5, 2018

Small island states (island states with populations under a million) do stand to benefit from tourism money spread between few people. None of that is to suggest that such money will necessarily benefit many, or that those states will do much to capture a significant portion of it and use it for health and education - the two other social aspects that are measured along with income in the HDI.

Level 80

Nov 29, 2019

The Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Cape Verde are also African island nations.

Level 59

Dec 19, 2020

And Madagascar, but that's a bit too big to follow the pattern

Level 51

Apr 6, 2020

There actually was a recent war in the Comoros, when African Union forces invaded the island of Anjouan.

Level 43

May 28, 2020

Seychelles are technically socialist thats why

+23

Level 89

Feb 11, 2021

That has not been true for three decades now.

+35

Level 75

Feb 24, 2021

Socialism is not a magical powder that makes countries rich

Level ∞

Nov 2, 2022

In the case of Mauritius, Seychelles, and Cape Verde they don't share a history with the rest of Africa, being uninhabited until the last few hundred years.

https://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/most-recently-settled-countries

Level 69

Jul 28, 2024

I think part of it is corruption, or other foreign interests controlling operation. Google something like "money laundering mauritius"; I get the impression it's like Nauru was, or I think Ukraine, where foreign entities are looking for a controllable "state" to exploit for global taxes or rebates, or the general movement of money. Keep it functioning at a high enough level for competence, and a low enough level to maintain power over

+10

Level 92

Mar 28, 2017

So basically it's the name the countries that border the Mediterranean, small island countries, Commonwealth countries that haven't had recent civil wars and Gabon. The next two hold to that pattern as well.

+35

Level 59

Dec 19, 2020

You can't name three different patterns, with an exception that doesn't fit into any of them, and pretend that that makes it easy.

Level 57

Sep 10, 2021

Especially when there's only ten answers

Level 86

Jan 1, 2023

Well, Gabon's in the Commonwealth now so it fits a bit better.

Level 51

Mar 28, 2017

The safest place to be in Africa is...not really in Africa. I guess that makes sense - it's a tumultuous country. But even with the flag I was thinking - Really? The SEYCHELLES?!

+48

Level 58

Jun 14, 2017

Continent, not a country

+35

Level 50

Jun 12, 2018

Most parts of Africa are very safe. This is about HDI not safety. Also Africa is a continent, not a country.

Level 67

Mar 28, 2017

what about equatorial guinea? PPP of $35K+

+18

Level 84

Mar 28, 2017

A small amount of the people there control the wealth. It's mainly in the hands of the dictators family.

Level 80

Nov 29, 2019

And due to the abundance of oil there. Currently the country's GDP per capita is decreasing.

Level 67

Apr 6, 2020

A high GDP does not guarentees a good HDI

+11

Level 65

Mar 28, 2017

The flag was a dead giveaway.

Level 90

Dec 14, 2019

To me it just looks like Google Maps.

Level 59

Dec 19, 2020

You're joking right?

Level 58

Oct 17, 2020

If you know Seychelle's flag you probably also know island nations have an advantage, or that Seychelles has the highest GDP per capita in africa

Level 28

Mar 28, 2017

I bet no one would have gotten Seychelles if the flag wasn't on the top ;))

+10

Level 92

Apr 3, 2017

Why is that? Not many countries in Africa have a smaller population than metropolises such as Lawton Oklahoma or Scranton Pennsylvania. Especially when you see the pattern of the countries on the list.

+30

Level 67

Jun 14, 2017

I didn't even know which flag that was, and I got Seychelles. I guesses all the little island countries first. It makes the most sense, both because it's easier for countries with low populations to prosper, because access to water usually means access to food, and because the natural boundaries spare those countries from so much of the violence and upheaval that plagues the African mainland.

Level 75

Jun 15, 2017

You typed the words right out of my mouth.

Level 76

Dec 6, 2018

I think Seychelles would have been the first thing I typed

Level 81

Jun 14, 2017

What happened to Equatorial Guinea? I thought they were way ahead of the rest of Africa. Now they rank below Botswana??

+13

Level 84

Jun 14, 2017

Most Equatoguineans live in poverty. The oil money goes to US companies and the dictators family.

+16

Level 75

Dec 5, 2018

Equatoguineans? First time I've seen that word. Thank you, my new fact of the day.

Level 53

Jan 1, 2023

Botswana is a highly developed country!

Level 42

Jun 14, 2017

Gabon was a lucky guess from me, other than that, pretty happy with 100% score.

Level 68

Jun 14, 2017

Is the Seychelles anyone else's favorites national flag? Because it's mine.

Level 65

Dec 5, 2018

I got it cause my sister Sue sells sea shells by the sea shore there.

Level 67

Dec 10, 2018

she sells sea shells by the seashore in the seychelles

Level 22

Jun 14, 2017

Since I saw Seychelles on the flag, along with it I guessed Mauritius, Cape Verde, Comoros and Sao Tome. I got 2 out of 4 correct.

Level 67

Jun 14, 2017

Very tough quiz. I only got 4. I thought Libya and Cape Verde were quite poor.

+13

Level 92

Jun 14, 2017

It's more of an indictment of the rest of the continent than anything praise worthy they are doing. The only country in the entirety of the Americas or Europe that is appreciably worse is Haiti. So think of all the problems in El Salvador or Bolivia or Moldova and you'll get a picture of what it's like in one of the better places in Africa.

Level 76

Jun 14, 2017

I'm always surprised how Rwanda doesn't show up on these lists. From what I've just studied online, everything seems to be going rather smoothly over there.

Level 63

Oct 4, 2018

You're right but it takes years to be in that rankings.

Level 45

Dec 22, 2018

Yes I tried Rwanda too for the same reason, I’ve heard lots about its progress

Level 47

Apr 6, 2020

Outside Kigali(which is my favorite city in Africa) the country is quite rural, and as a result poor. the average GDP per capita is less than $750.

Level 71

Feb 24, 2021

Also, from what I can tell, Rwanda started out from basically the bottom (or close to the bottom) after its internal conflicts and genocide in the '90s. The growth they have had is impressive indeed (they are at about the same HDI as Nigeria now), but because they started out so low, the progress they have made has only gotten them so far.

Level 79

Oct 4, 2018

Amazing that Libya makes the list considering they don't even have a single government with control over the whole country. Also, there are parts of Spain, Portugal and Italy in the African continent. Shouldn't they feature on the list?

Level 73

Oct 4, 2018

where would Italy have parts in Africa?!?

Level 70

Oct 15, 2018

While Italy is ofc wrong, I really love CardinalSin's mocking of the ambigous title. :-D

Level 79

Nov 29, 2019

Lampedusa, Pantellaria, Linosa.

Level 58

Oct 17, 2020

All of those are Mediterranean islands incorporated into Sicily. A bit of a stretch there to say Italy has land in Africa

Level 81

Dec 2, 2018

Making a top 10 list of high HDI in Africa is a very low bar to clear. That's really the only reason.

Level 29

Jan 3, 2021

I don't think that would count since, for all the countries you named, their capitals are all in Europe.

Level 64

Dec 5, 2018

Why is Libya on the list, they don't even control most of their country

Level 81

Dec 5, 2018

High life expectancy, high income, and high standards of education compared to the rest of the continent. Libya is not doing so well right now, but Tripoli losing control over parts of the country isn't going to have an immediate impact on those three things, and when your competition is Niger and Burundi, well...

Level 76

Dec 5, 2018

I don't know if it tells anything about HDI, but from what I've understood, you can quite comfortably shop in stores like M&S and H&M nowadays in Tripoli.

Level 76

Dec 5, 2018

Also what I've heard, the majority of university students in Libya are female. Still not directly about HDI but I think that's sign of a developed country.

Level 81

Dec 5, 2018

To your last comment: maybe. It could also be a sign that they were lagging behind in gender equality and only recently has the gap started narrowing and they're still in a period of catching up. I think that's at least part of the reason why female university enrollment in Saudi Arabia is presently so high. And the fact that there are more women currently studying to be doctors there than men may at first seem to point toward a progressive society until you realize that the reason why demand for female doctors is so high is because of a backward sex-segregated culture that makes it impossible for male doctors to treat female patients, creating a situation where healthcare for women is extremely inadequate.

Level 81

Apr 6, 2019

^anyway my point was be careful when looking at a single data point that paints a very narrow and misleading picture. Same thing happens in the USA when they look at the difference in mean wages between men and women, when American women are some of the most privileged people on the planet.

Level 55

Dec 1, 2022

If you think American women are privileged, wait until you hear about American men...

Level 81

Jan 1, 2023

I've heard about and lived the experience. Women in the US are substantially more privileged and have been since at least the closing decades of the 20th century. Not to imply that American men are less privileged than those in Libya...

Level 69

Dec 5, 2018

Basically, stick to the far North, far South, Eastern Islands and Gabon (which is in the middle of the likes of DRC, CAR, Cameroon and Nigeria..

Level 47

Dec 5, 2018

Given the recent tourism boom in Cape Verde, it may make this list soon.

Level 32

Dec 10, 2018

Didn't expect Libya, let alone for it to be higher than South Africa.

Level 57

May 25, 2019

Try the northern countries bordering the Mediterranean, the islands in the Indian Ocean, and the oil-producing countries with small populations. Then try southern countries and countries where they are trying to fight corruption. That gets the five northern countries, Seychelles and Mauritius, Gabon, Soputh Africa, and Botswana. That would leave you typing the 'extra' countries of Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, and Rwanda, all of which are close in the rankings and would in some years be in the top ten.

Level 49

Jan 26, 2020

Really? Libya on it and Rwanda isnt

Level 47

Apr 6, 2020

Outside Kigali(which is my favorite city in Africa) the country is quite rural, and as a result poor. the average GDP per capita is less than $750.

Level 83

Apr 13, 2022

Not sure about everyone else but I think this comment may have been copied and pasted

Level 72

Jan 5, 2023

Hey, why not? It was the same person both times, and they've answered people's questions.