Ghana vs South Africa: Human development index
Human development index over time
- Ghana
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 0.625 HDI against 0.553 HDI in Ghana, a difference of 0.072 HDI.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Ghana's.
Across all 10 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
Ghana ranks 12th and South Africa ranks 9th of 50 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ghana | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.391 HDI | 0.57 HDI | 0.179 HDI | South Africa |
| 1990s | 0.427 HDI | 0.621 HDI | 0.194 HDI | South Africa |
| 2000s | 0.5008 HDI | 0.6117 HDI | 0.1108 HDI | South Africa |
| 2010s | 0.5465 HDI | 0.623 HDI | 0.0765 HDI | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher human development index, Ghana or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 0.625 HDI against 0.553 HDI in Ghana as of 2011.
- What is the difference in human development index between Ghana and South Africa?
- 0.072 HDI, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ghana and South Africa?
- 10 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2011.
- How do Ghana and South Africa rank globally for human development index?
- Ghana ranks 12th 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.
Individual pages
About this data
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.