Definition
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistical measure published annually by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its Human Development Report. The index combines three dimensions of human development: health (measured by life expectancy at birth), education (measured by mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling), and standard of living (measured by gross national income per capita in purchasing power parity terms).
The HDI ranges from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating greater human development. Countries are classified into four tiers: low, medium, high, and very high human development.
Methodology
Each dimension is normalised to a value between 0 and 1 using minimum and maximum goalposts, and the HDI is calculated as the geometric mean of the three dimensional indices. The index is designed to shift the focus of development assessment from purely economic measures (such as GDP growth) to a broader assessment of human well-being.
The UNDP also publishes related indices, including the Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI), the Gender Development Index (GDI), and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which provide additional perspectives on development outcomes.
Qatar’s Ranking
Qatar is classified in the “very high human development” category, ranking among the top 40 to 50 countries globally. The country’s HDI performance is driven by high gross national income per capita, relatively high life expectancy, and substantial investment in education. However, Qatar’s HDI ranking is notably lower than its GDP per capita ranking would suggest, reflecting the fact that income alone does not fully capture educational attainment and health outcomes.
Significance
The HDI is relevant to the National Vision 2030 because it captures the breadth of development outcomes that the Vision seeks to improve. The Human Development Pillar explicitly targets improvements in education quality, healthcare access, and workforce skill development — all of which feed directly into HDI performance. Sustained improvement in Qatar’s HDI ranking would signal that the country’s development trajectory is achieving human outcomes, not merely economic growth.