Morocco vs South Africa: Human development index

Morocco
0.589 HDI
in 2011
South Africa
0.625 HDI
in 2011
Morocco rank
11th
South Africa rank
9th

Human development index over time

  • Morocco
  • South Africa
00.20.40.6198019952011

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 0.625 HDI against 0.589 HDI in Morocco, a difference of 0.036 HDI.

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

Across all 10 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.

Morocco ranks 11th 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 Morocco South Africa Difference Ahead
1980s 0.371 HDI 0.57 HDI 0.199 HDI South Africa
1990s 0.44 HDI 0.621 HDI 0.181 HDI South Africa
2000s 0.5607 HDI 0.6117 HDI 0.051 HDI South Africa
2010s 0.5875 HDI 0.623 HDI 0.0355 HDI South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher human development index, Morocco or South Africa?
South Africa, at 0.625 HDI against 0.589 HDI in Morocco as of 2011.
What is the difference in human development index between Morocco and South Africa?
0.036 HDI, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Morocco and South Africa?
10 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2011.
How do Morocco and South Africa rank globally for human development index?
Morocco ranks 11th 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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Morocco 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/morocco/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

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.