Human Development Index groups in New Zealand
New Zealand: Human Development Index groups was 0.938 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Human Development Index groups in New Zealand, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 0.938 for human development index groups in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human development index groups in New Zealand peaked at 0.94 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.811, in 1990.
New Zealand ranks 17th of 192 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Human Development Index groups in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.811 | — |
| 1991 | 0.813 | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 0.822 | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 0.838 | +1.9% |
| 1994 | 0.852 | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 0.858 | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 0.862 | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 0.871 | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 0.881 | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 0.886 | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 0.896 | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 0.902 | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 0.905 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 0.91 | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 0.912 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.917 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 0.918 | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 0.921 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 0.92 | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.923 | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.926 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.927 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 0.929 | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 0.933 | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 0.932 | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 0.934 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 0.938 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 0.936 | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 0.938 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 0.938 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.94 | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 0.939 | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 0.933 | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 0.938 | +0.5% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 0.938 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.913, 1.0× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 0.938 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.732, 1.3× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.8494 | 0.811 | 0.886 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9124 | 0.896 | 0.923 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9331 | 0.926 | 0.938 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9375 | 0.933 | 0.94 | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 15 United Arab Emirates 0.94 compare
- 16 Canada 0.939 compare
- 17 Liechtenstein 0.938 compare
- 17 United States 0.938 compare
- 20 South Korea 0.937 compare
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human development index groups in New Zealand?
- Human development index groups in New Zealand was 0.938 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human development index groups recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 0.94 in 2020.
- What is the lowest human development index groups recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.811 in 1990.
- How does New Zealand rank for human development index groups?
- New Zealand ranks 17th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is human development index groups rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Human Development Index groups. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, a good education, and a decent standard of living. Higher values indicate higher human development.