A developed country is a sovereign state with a mature economy and technologically advanced infrastructure compared to other nations. Several factors determine whether or not a country is developed, such as its political stability, gross domestic product (GDP), level of industrialization, social welfare programs, infrastructure, health services, jobs, education system, and the freedoms its citizens enjoy. HDI can be used to determine the best countries to live in, as more developed countries typically offer their residents a higher quality of life.
Over the years, the United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI) has become the most widely used and universally agreed tool for measuring different countries’ developing status. The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. HDI is quantified by looking at a country’s human development, such as education, health, and life expectancy.
HDI is set on a scale from 0.00 to 1.00. Countries that score very low on these indicators (0.00-0.55) are classified as having low human development ratio. The ones that score between 0.55 to 0.70 are classified as medium human development countries while those with scores of between 0.70 and 0.80 are classified to have high human development ratio. Meanwhile, countries with very high human development ratios score between 0.80-1.0, and thus the most developed countries.
Here are the top 10 most developed countries in Africa.
Rank | Country | HDI |
1. | Mauritius | 0.804 |
2. | Seychelles | 0.796 |
3. | Algeria | 0.748 |
4. | Tunisia | 0.740 |
5. | Botswana | 0.735 |
6. | Libya | 0.724 |
7. | South Africa | 0.709 |
8. | Egypt | 0.707 |
9. | Gabon | 0.703 |
10. | Morocco | 0.686 |