HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX. 2025

The Basque Country came 12th in the global HDI ranking 2025

The Basque Country’s HDI maintained its upward trend

The Basque Country, with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.948, occupied 12th place in the ranking of countries, according to Eustat data applying the methodology of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published in its latest report for 2025, with data from 2023.

This report, published by the UNDP on 6 May 2025, established a global ranking of 193 countries ranked by level of wellbeing. The index is comprised of indicators corresponding to three dimensions of well-being: the dimension of health (measured based on life expectancy at birth), the dimension of education (according to the expected years of schooling of the school-age population and the average years of schooling of adults) and the dimension of standard of living (obtained from the gross national income per capita).

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The UNPD highlighted that the global HDI has slowed down, meaning that, apart from the years 2020-2021, it has experienced its slowest growth in 35 years.

On top of this it must be added that the inequalities between rich and poor countries are growing. For the fourth consecutive year, the inequality between countries with a low HDI and those with a very high one grew (2020 saw a reversal in the trend observed during the previous 20 years, in which inequalities between countries were decreasing).

The HDI in the Basque Country maintained the upward trend it has been on since 2010, with the sole exception of 2020 when, as a result of the pandemic, its score dropped from 0.943 in 2019, to 0.937. After this setback, and following the trend of the most developed countries, the Basque Country’s HDI has been recovering, to the extent that, in 2022, it reached its pre-pandemic level. In this latest measure, the index corresponding to the year 2023 reached its highest value so far (0.948).

The increase in the HDI is above all due to the improvement in life expectancy, which grew from 83.35 years in 2022 to 83.98 in 2023. The gross income per capita also grew, reaching $66.096, as well as the mean years of schooling (11.46 years).

With the 2023 data, the Basque Country’s HDI remained at the level of the most developed countries on the planet, sitting between Finland and Singapore. The ranking is opened by Iceland with an HDI of 0.972 and closed by South Sudan, with 0.388. The global HDI stands at 0.756. Spain ranks 28th in the UNDP report, with an HDI of 0.918, placing it between Israel and the Czech Republic

From a broader time perspective, during the period 2010-2023, all the components of the HDI improved in the Basque Country. Life expectancy increased from 82.27 to 83.98, meaning that in 2023 it was 6th in the world ranking, surpassed only by San Marino (85.7 years), Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Andorra.

As for the indicator expected years of schooling, only 13 countries had reached a higher value than the Basque Country, with 18.5 years. The country with the best indicator was Greece, with 20.8 years of expected schooling.

With regards to the mean years of schooling, the Basque Country was beaten by 55 countries, despite rising from 10.2 to 11.5 years in the period 2010-2023. The country at the top of the ranking was Germany, with an average of 14.3 years of schooling.

The gross national income per capita of the Basque Country increased between 2010 and 2023 from 56,952 to 66,096 US dollars, measured in terms of Purchasing Power Parity of the year 2021 for Spain. Liechtenstein topped the ranking with $166,812, followed by Norway, Singapore and Qatar, all above 100,000 dollars. In total, 15 countries would have a higher income than the Basque Country, when measured in these terms.

Methodological information:

Human Development Index. Methodological note

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea/Basque Statistics Institute
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel.: 945 01 75 62

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