South Korea Ranks 19th Globally in 'Quality of Life'... Up One Spot from Last Year

UNDP Human Development Index Report
1st Place Switzerland... Last Place Somalia

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), under the United Nations, ranked South Korea 19th in the 'Human Development Index' (HDI), which evaluates the quality of life of residents in various countries.

According to the '2023/2024 Human Development Report' released by UNDP on the 13th (local time), South Korea's HDI was calculated at 0.929 based on 2022 data. This ranks 19th among 193 countries and regions surveyed, moving up one spot from 20th the previous year.

Since ranking 26th in 2009, South Korea has consistently been among the top-tier countries, recording 12th place overall in 2010 and 2012.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. High-rise apartments in the Yeongdeungpo area and Mokdong district of Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

The HDI is calculated based on four objective indicators: life expectancy, expected years of schooling, mean years of schooling, and gross national income (GNI) per capita. In 2022, South Korea's life expectancy was 84 years, expected years of schooling and mean years of schooling were 16.5 years and 12.6 years respectively. The GNI per capita, based on purchasing power parity (PPP), was evaluated at $46,026.

The United States ranked 20th (0.927 points), three places lower than South Korea. The U.S. life expectancy was 78.2 years, which is relatively short among developed countries. The expected years of schooling and mean years of schooling were 16.4 years and 13.6 years respectively, similar to South Korea, but the GNI per capita was much higher at $65,565.

Switzerland ranked first in the HDI for this year as well as last year. The life expectancy of Swiss people was 84.3 years, and the mean years of schooling was 13.9 years. The expected years of schooling were nearly the same as South Korea’s, but the GNI was significantly higher at $69,433. Following Switzerland, countries with high quality of life included Norway (0.966), Iceland (0.959), Hong Kong (0.956), Denmark (0.952), Sweden (0.952), Germany (0.950), Ireland (0.950), Singapore (0.949), Australia (0.946), and the Netherlands (0.946).

Japan’s HDI was 0.920, dropping two places from the previous year to 24th, and China remained at 75th with a score of 0.788, down one place from 74th the previous year. Among the 193 surveyed countries, Somalia ranked lowest at 193rd with 0.380, followed by South Sudan (0.381), the Central African Republic (0.387), and Niger (0.394), all African countries ranking near the bottom. North Korea was not included in this survey due to lack of information other than life expectancy (73.6 years).

Globally, the HDI was 0.739, fully recovering to the level of 2019 (0.739) before the COVID-19 pandemic began. UNDP stated, "The global HDI, which fell for the first time in history in 2020 (0.736) and 2021 (0.735), has since rebounded and is expected to reach an all-time high in 2023."

However, UNDP pointed out that although the world as a whole has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, significant disparities remain between developed and underdeveloped countries. As of 2022, all developed countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recorded higher HDI scores than in 2019, but more than half of underdeveloped countries have not yet recovered from the pandemic’s impact, with this trend being particularly severe in African countries. Additionally, Ukraine, which has been at war for over two years due to Russia's invasion, recorded an HDI of 0.734 (100th place), its lowest since 2004, dropping 14 places from 86th the previous year.

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, remarked, "We live in the wealthiest world in human history, yet there are more people who are hungry and poor than ten years ago."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.