This month’s significant number: 18
That is Canada’s current ranking in the United Nations Human Development Index.
October 08, 2024
Do you remember a time when Canada prided itself on having the best quality of life in the world? That assertion was based on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), where Canada dominated the rankings in the 1990s. Since then, our position has slipped and Canada is now in 18th place, according to data released recently by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The HDI is an indicator that considers life expectancy, access to education and culture, and per-capita income to provide some idea of the quality of life offered by each country. The latest figures reflect a generalized improvement worldwide, but progress has been uneven from region to region. The Swiss currently lead the rankings. As for Canada, our HDI value has increased, but other countries, such as Norway, Germany and Great Britain, have shown more improvement and moved ahead of us.
For more information, take a look at the UNDP’s latest human development report .
The following sources were used to prepare this article:
Larousse, “Indice de développement humain , You will be redirected to an external website.».
UNDP, “Human Development Report 2023-24 , You will be redirected to an external website..”
Radio-Canada, “Indice de développement humain : le Canada n’est plus parmi les dix premiers , You will be redirected to an external website..”
The Economist, “Which countries have the best, and worst, living standards? , You will be redirected to an external website..”
