Human Development Index
A single score for health, education and income — overall human development.
What is it?
The HDI, published by the UNDP, combines three things into one score between 0 and 1: a long and healthy life (life expectancy), knowledge (years of schooling), and a decent standard of living (income per person). Development is about people, not just money.
A simple example
A country with good health and schools but modest income can still score well — and two countries with the same GDP can have very different HDIs.
What happens when it is high
A higher HDI means people live longer, learn more and have higher incomes. Sri Lanka has historically scored well on health and education relative to its income.
What happens when it is low
A lower HDI reflects shorter lives, less schooling or lower incomes — often reinforcing each other across generations.
What is a healthy range
UNDP bands: very high (0.80+), high (0.70–0.79), medium (0.55–0.69), low (below 0.55). Here 0.80+ is Good, 0.70–0.80 Watch, below 0.70 Concern.
UNDP HDI bands (very high ≥0.80).
What might happen next
Official projections
No data yet
Simple statistical trend
No data yet
Upside: gains in health, education and incomes raise it. Downside: economic crisis, cuts to health/education, or falling real incomes lower it. Not financial advice.
A simple statistical trend, not a prediction of what will happen. Forecasts are uncertain and are not financial advice.
For experts
It captures wellbeing more fully than income alone, and shows whether growth is improving ordinary lives.
How we calculate this
Geometric mean of normalised life-expectancy, education and income indices (UNDP). Annual.