Human Development Report 2025

Human Development Report 2025 Latest News

India ranked 130th on the Human Development Index, out of 193 countries and territories, according to the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) released recently.

About Human Development Report

• It is an annual publication by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that evaluates and compares countries based on human development rather than just economic growth.
• It analyses development progress across a range of indicators known as the Human Development Index (HDI), which encompasses achievements in health and education,along with levels of income. 
• Highlights of HDR 2025:
  • The 2025 HDR, titled “A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI”, highlights the critical role of artificial intelligence in shaping the next chapter of human development.
  • The study revealed stalled progress on the HDI in all regions across the world and warned that increasing trade tensions, a worsening debt crisis, and the rise of jobless industrialisation risked making the situation worse. 
  • Iceland, with an HDI value of 0.972, ranked at the top of the Index, followed by Norway and Switzerland.South Sudan was at the bottom at 193 with 0.388.
  • India is ranked 130th on the Human Development Index (HDI), out of 193 countries and territories.
  • India improved its HDI value from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023, with the country remaining in the medium human development category, although moving closer to the threshold for high human development (HDI ≥ 0.700). 
  • It also noted that India’s HDI value has increased by over 53 percent since 1990, growing faster than both the global and South Asian averages.
  • Among India’s neighbours, China (75th), Sri Lanka (78th), and Bhutan (127th) are ranked above India, while Bangladesh (130th) is ranked at par. Nepal (145th), Myanmar (149th), and Pakistan (168th) are ranked below India.
  • India’s life expectancy also rose to 72 years in 2023 from 67.7 in 2022, while expected schooling years increased to 13 from 12.6, with average schooling years increasing to 6.9 from 6.57. Meanwhile, the per capita Gross National Income (GNI) jumped from $6,951 to $9,047 (PPP 2021).
  • India was the only low- or middle-income country among the top 10 in the Global AI Index, with the highest level of self-reported AI skills penetration. 
  • The country also showed improved retention of domestic AI talent: 20 percent of Indian AI researchers reportedly remained in India in 2023, compared to almost none in 2019.

Human Development Report 2025 FAQs

Q1. Who publishes the annual Human Development Report?

Ans. United Nations Development Programme

Q2. Which country ranked first in the Human Development Index (HDI) in the 2025 HDR?

Ans. Iceland

Q3. What was India’s rank on the Human Development Index in 2025?

Ans. 130

Source: BS