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

South Africa, at 0.625 HDI against 0.606 HDI in Namibia as of 2011.

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

0.019 HDI, with South Africa ahead.

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

9 years are reported by both, from 1990 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.

Namibia vs South Africa: Human development index

Namibia

0.606 HDI

in 2011

South Africa

0.625 HDI

in 2011

Namibia rank

10th

South Africa rank

9th

Human development index over time

Namibia
South Africa

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 0.625 HDI against 0.606 HDI in Namibia, a difference of 0.019 HDI.

Across all 9 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.

Namibia ranks 10th and South Africa ranks 9th of 50 countries.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Namibia	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1990s	0.569 HDI	0.621 HDI	0.052 HDI	South Africa
2000s	0.5863 HDI	0.6117 HDI	0.0253 HDI	South Africa
2010s	0.605 HDI	0.623 HDI	0.018 HDI	South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher human development index, Namibia or South Africa?: South Africa, at 0.625 HDI against 0.606 HDI in Namibia as of 2011.
What is the difference in human development index between Namibia and South Africa?: 0.019 HDI, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Namibia and South Africa?: 9 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2011.
How do Namibia and South Africa rank globally for human development index?: Namibia ranks 10th 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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Namibia 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/namibia/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.