UK EU Ranked
Menu

RankingsQuality of life

Human Development Index

The UK ranks 8th of 28 on Human Development Index (2023)

The UK ranks 8th of 28 on Human Development Index in 2023: 0.946, unit index (0 to 1), against an EU27 median of 0.915. Source: Our World in Data (Human Development Index, UNDP-derived), human-development-index, snapshot of 6 November 2026.

Composite of life expectancy, schooling and income per head, scaled 0 to 1.

Caveat. UNDP revises the series, and methodology changes shift levels. The Our World in Data copy is used because the UNDP API requires a key.

The UK

Human Development Index

0.946index (0 to 1)(2023)

8th of 28No change in rank from 2016 to 2023.
EU27 median
0.915 index (0 to 1)
UK minus EU27 median
+0.031 index (0 to 1)

League table

Values in index (0 to 1). Countries ranked by value, 1 = top of the table, 28 with a value.

Human Development Index, 2023: league table of countries
1Denmark0.9622023
2Germany0.9592023
2Sweden0.9592023
4Netherlands0.9552023
5Belgium0.9512023
6Ireland0.9492023
7Finland0.9482023
8United KingdomUK0.9462023
9Slovenia0.9312023
10Austria0.9302023
11Malta0.9242023
12Luxembourg0.9222023
13France0.9202023
14Spain0.9182023
15Czechia0.9152023
15Italy0.9152023
17Cyprus0.9132023
18Greece0.9082023
19Poland0.9062023
20Estonia0.9052023
21Lithuania0.8952023
22Portugal0.8902023
23Croatia0.8892023
23Latvia0.8892023
25Slovakia0.8802023
26Hungary0.8702023
27Bulgaria0.8452023
27Romania0.8452023

Trend, 2000 to 2023

Human Development Index, 2000 to 2023Line chart, 2000 to 2023: the UK (heavy ink line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.index (0 to 1)0.90.91.020002005201020152020123Norway1.0Switzerland1.0Germany1.0Australia1.0United Kingdom0.9Canada0.9United States0.9Japan0.9France0.9Spain0.9Italy0.9Human Development Index, 2000 to 2023Line chart, 2000 to 2023: the UK (heavy ink line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.index (0 to 1)0.90.91.0200020102020123NorwaySwitzerlandGermanyAustraliaUnited KingdomCanadaUnited StatesJapanFranceSpainItaly
  • Heavy ink line: United Kingdom
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Thin grey lines, reference countries (not the big four): Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, United States
  • Shaded: 2008–09 financial crisis
  • Shaded: 2020–21 Covid-19 pandemic
  • Shaded: 2022–23 energy price shock
  • Marker 1: EU referendum (23 June 2016)
  • Marker 2: UK leaves the EU (31 January 2020)
  • Marker 3: Transition period ends; Trade and Cooperation Agreement in force (1 January 2021)
Trends show what happened, not why; Covid, energy prices and policy changes overlap the same years. Dotted lines are projections and are not ranked.

UK rank over time

Rank 1 is the top of the table; the line is drawn with rank 1 at the top. Each year is ranked on that year's values.

UK rank, 2000 to 2023: 8th to 8th3rd6th9th20002005201020152020June 20168thUK rank, 2000 to 2023: 8th to 8th3rd6th9th200020102020June 20168th

2000: 8th · 2023: 8th

Sources and method

Composite of life expectancy, schooling and income per head, scaled 0 to 1.

Source: Our World in Data (Human Development Index, UNDP-derived) · series human-development-index· vintage 2025-05-07 · fetched 2026-11-06

Source: UNDP, Human Development Report, with processing by Our World in Data; accessed 2026-11-06.

Licence: OWID-produced data is CC BY 4.0; third-party data (here UNDP HDI) follows the original provider's licence. UNDP HDR materials are CC BY 3.0 IGO, with a rule to use the latest data and not compare HDI values across editions.