Countries Ranked by Human capital index (2020)
Human capital index: each country's latest value (2015–2020), ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).
Summary
Singapore ranks #1 with 0.879 index (0-1). Hong Kong SAR, China is second with 0.813 index (0-1), 8.2% behind. The top five are Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, China, Japan, Korea, Rep. and Canada. The median across all 174 is 0.564 index (0-1); Central African Republic is last at 0.292 index (0-1).
- #1
- Singapore · 0.879 index (0-1)
- Median
- 0.564 index (0-1)
- Coverage
- 174 countries
- Data year
- 2020
- Last updated
- 2026-11-14
Full ranking
Showing the top 100 of 174. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.
About the top 10
#1 Singapore
Singapore ranks #1 on this list with 0.879 index (0-1).
- Capital
- Singapore
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 6.11 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$603.87 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$98,814 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 83.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 100% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Singapore.
Also ranks #1 in gdp per capita ppp · #1 in government debt share of gdp · #1 in government effectiveness score.
#2 Hong Kong SAR, China
Hong Kong SAR, China ranks #2 on this list with 0.813 index (0-1).
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 7.5 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$427.31 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$56,983 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 85.4 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 100% of population (2025)
- International tourist arrivals
- 3.57 million arrivals (2020)
Also ranks #1 in female population share · #1 in trade share of gdp · #2 in female life expectancy.
#3 Japan
Japan ranks #3 on this list with 0.805 index (0-1).
- Capital
- Tokyo
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 123.37 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$4.44 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$35,951 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 84 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 92.3% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Tokyo, Tokyo, Yokohama.
Also ranks #2 in population ages 65+ share · #2 in age dependency ratio (old) · #2 in fdi outflows.
#4 Korea, Rep.
Korea, Rep. ranks #4 on this list with 0.799 index (0-1).
- Capital
- Seoul
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 51.69 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$1.87 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$36,227 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 83.6 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 81.2% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Seoul, Busan, Incheon.
Also ranks #1 in hospital beds per 10,000 · #2 in atms per 100,000 adults · #2 in researchers in r&d per million.
#5 Canada
Canada ranks #5 on this list with 0.798 index (0-1).
- Capital
- Ottawa
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 41.65 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$2.32 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$55,698 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 82.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 82.9% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary.
Also ranks #2 in surface area · #3 in forest area · #4 in land area.
#6 Finland
Finland ranks #6 on this list with 0.796 index (0-1).
- Capital
- Helsinki
- Continent
- Europe
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 5.65 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$317.04 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$56,149 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 82.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 74.5% of population (2025)
Also ranks #1 in rule of law score · #2 in bank accounts share (adults) · #2 in control of corruption score.
#7 Macao SAR, China
Macao SAR, China ranks #7 on this list with 0.796 index (0-1).
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 685,900 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$52.06 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$75,902 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 83.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 100% of population (2025)
- International tourist arrivals
- 5.9 million arrivals (2020)
Also ranks #1 in population density · #2 in school enrolment (tertiary) · #2 in services value added share of gdp.
#8 Sweden
Sweden ranks #8 on this list with 0.795 index (0-1).
- Capital
- Stockholm
- Continent
- Europe
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 10.6 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$669 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$63,133 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 84.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 89.1% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö.
Also ranks #3 in researchers in r&d per million · #4 in r&d expenditure share of gdp · #6 in male life expectancy.
#9 Ireland
Ireland ranks #9 on this list with 0.793 index (0-1).
- Capital
- Dublin
- Continent
- Europe
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 5.48 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$721.7 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$131,590 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 83 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 64.6% of population (2025)
Also ranks #3 in gdp per capita ppp · #3 in air passengers carried · #3 in manufacturing value added share of gdp.
#10 Netherlands
Netherlands ranks #10 on this list with 0.79 index (0-1).
- Capital
- Amsterdam
- Continent
- Europe
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 18.09 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$1.33 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$73,684 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 82 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 95.9% of population (2025)
Also ranks #4 in fdi outflows · #5 in school enrolment (secondary) · #6 in secure internet servers per million.
Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.
Source and method
Human capital index: each country's latest value (2015–2020), ranked from highest to lowest.
Source: The World Bank, indicator HD.HCI.OVRL. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.
The World Bank: Human Capital Index (HCI) (scale 0-1): Staff calculations based on the Human Capital Project, World Bank (WB) (via World Development Indicators)
Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: Staff calculations based on the Human Capital Project, World Bank (WB).
Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.