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

Gabon, at 0.679 HDI against 0.625 HDI in South Africa as of 2011.

How many years of comparable data are there for Gabon 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.

Gabon vs South Africa: Human development index

Gabon

0.679 HDI

in 2011

South Africa

0.625 HDI

in 2011

Gabon rank

6th

South Africa rank

9th

Human development index over time

Gabon
South Africa

How they compare

Gabon currently reports 0.679 HDI against 0.625 HDI in South Africa, a difference of 0.054 HDI.

That makes Gabon's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

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

Gabon ranks 6th and South Africa ranks 9th of 50 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	Gabon	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1980s	0.526 HDI	0.57 HDI	0.044 HDI	South Africa
1990s	0.61 HDI	0.621 HDI	0.011 HDI	South Africa
2000s	0.6558 HDI	0.6117 HDI	0.0442 HDI	Gabon
2010s	0.6775 HDI	0.623 HDI	0.0545 HDI	Gabon

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher human development index, Gabon or South Africa?: Gabon, at 0.679 HDI against 0.625 HDI in South Africa as of 2011.
What is the difference in human development index between Gabon and South Africa?: 0.054 HDI, with Gabon ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Gabon and South Africa?: 10 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2011.
How do Gabon and South Africa rank globally for human development index?: Gabon ranks 6th 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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Gabon 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/gabon/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.