List of Latin American countries by Human Development Index

Map of the Latin American countries by Human Development Index in 2021

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. It is a standard means of measuring well-being. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. Countries fall into four broad categories based on their HDI: very high, high, medium, and low human development.

List

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The table below presents the latest Human Development Index (HDI) for countries in Latin America as included in a United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report (released in 2025).[1] Previous HDI values and rankings are retroactively recalculated using the same updated data sets and current methodologies, as presented in Table 2 of the Statistical Annex of the Human Development Report. The HDI rankings and values in the 2021-22 Human Development Report cannot therefore be compared directly to HDI rankings and values published in previous Human Development Reports.[1]

Rank Country Human Development Index (HDI)
Region World HDI value Change in
HDI value
2019–23*
Average annual
growth
(2010–21)[2]
2023 2021 2019[3]
Very high human development
1 45  Chile 0.878 0.855 0.851 Increase 0.027 Increase 0.46%
2 47  Argentina 0.865 0.842 0.845 Increase 0.020 Increase 0.09%
3 49  Uruguay 0.862 0.809 0.817 Increase 0.045 Increase 0.25%
4 59  Panama 0.839 0.805 0.815 Increase 0.024 Increase 0.37%
5 62  Costa Rica 0.833 0.809 0.810 Increase 0.023 Increase 0.43%
High human development
6 79  Peru 0.794 0.762 0.777 Increase 0.017 Increase 0.45%
7 81  Mexico 0.789 0.758 0.779 Increase 0.010 Increase 0.15%
8 83  Colombia 0.788 0.752 0.767 Increase 0.021 Increase 0.32%
9 84  Brazil 0.786 0.754 0.765 Increase 0.021 Increase 0.58%
10 88  Ecuador 0.777 0.740 0.759 Increase 0.018 Increase 0.05%
11 89  Dominican Republic 0.776 0.767 0.756 Increase 0.020 Increase 0.73%
12 97  Cuba 0.762 0.764 0.783 Decrease 0.021 Decrease 0.19%
13 99  Paraguay 0.756 0.717 0.728 Increase 0.028 Increase 0.42%
14 108  Bolivia 0.733 0.692 0.718 Increase 0.015 Increase 0.40%
15 121  Venezuela 0.709 0.691 0.711 Decrease 0.002 Decrease 0.80%
16 123  Nicaragua 0.706 0.667 0.660 Increase 0.046 Increase 0.76%
Medium human development
17 132  El Salvador 0.678 0.675 0.673 Increase 0.005 Increase 0.22%
18 137  Guatemala 0.662 0.627 0.663 Increase 0.001 Increase 0.33%
19 139  Honduras 0.645 0.621 0.634 Increase 0.011 Increase 0.36%
20 166  Haiti 0.554 0.535 0.510 Increase 0.044 Increase 1.94%
*Change in HDI value rounded to three decimals

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Human Development Report 2021-22: Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. pp. 272–276. ISBN 978-9-211-26451-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "2020 Human Development Report" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.