Which has higher human development index, Botswana or South Africa?

Botswana, at 0.634 HDI against 0.625 HDI in South Africa as of 2011.

What is the difference in human development index between Botswana and South Africa?

0.009 HDI, with Botswana ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and South Africa?

10 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2011.

Where does this data come from?

http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/, published as Human development index (HDI). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Botswana vs South Africa: Human development index

Botswana

0.634 HDI

in 2011

South Africa

0.625 HDI

in 2011

Botswana rank

8th

South Africa rank

9th

Human development index over time

Botswana
South Africa

How they compare

Botswana currently reports 0.634 HDI against 0.625 HDI in South Africa, a difference of 0.009 HDI.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 10 shared years of data; in 1980 it was South Africa ahead.

Botswana ranks 8th and South Africa ranks 9th of 50 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Botswana averaged higher in 2 and South Africa in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Botswana	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1980s	0.449 HDI	0.57 HDI	0.121 HDI	South Africa
1990s	0.586 HDI	0.621 HDI	0.035 HDI	South Africa
2000s	0.6127 HDI	0.6117 HDI	0.001 HDI	Botswana
2010s	0.6335 HDI	0.623 HDI	0.0105 HDI	Botswana

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher human development index, Botswana or South Africa?: Botswana, at 0.634 HDI against 0.625 HDI in South Africa as of 2011.
What is the difference in human development index between Botswana and South Africa?: 0.009 HDI, with Botswana ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and South Africa?: 10 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2011.
How do Botswana and South Africa rank globally for human development index?: Botswana ranks 8th and South Africa ranks 9th of 50 countries.
Where does this data come from?: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/, published as Human development index (HDI). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Botswana vs South Africa: Human development index. Statizoid, drawing on http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/human-development-index-hdi/botswana/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Human development index (HDI)
Unit: HDI
Source: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 50 places, 459 data points, 1980–2011
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of human development. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices measuring achievements in each dimension. The HDI is the geometric mean of the three dimension indices and embodies imperfect substitutability across all HDI dimensions. It thus addresses one of the most serious criticisms of the linear aggregation formula, which allowed for perfect substitution across dimensions. Some substitutability is inherent in the definition of any index that increases with the values of its components. Data sources: Life expectancy at birth: UNDESA; Mean years of schooling: Barro and Lee; Expected years of schooling: UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Gross national income (GNI) per capita: World Bank.