Countries by Human capital index plus (HCI+): education pillar score, male (scale 0”“188)

Ranking 2025

Analysis

This metric measures the Human Capital Index Plus (HCI+) education pillar score for males on a scale of 0 to 188. As defined in the source note, it 'aggregates human capital accumulated during formal schooling. This includes pre-school, primary, secondary, and tertiary schooling. The measure also captures learning quality through harmonized learning outcomes.' The unit is an absolute value; higher scores are better. Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code HD_HCIP_EDUC_MA, data year 2025). Coverage is strong: 178 countries have data, well above the 80-country threshold. Of those, 172 of 178 countries (96.6%) have data from the last seven years, and 100% of data points are classified as official. No extreme outliers were detected at the 3-sigma threshold, and average year-over-year change is 5.8%, indicating reasonable stability. The full range spans 31.87 to 170.83, a spread of 436%.

The top of the ranking is concentrated in East Asia and high-income Europe. Korea, Rep. holds first place at 170.83, followed by Hong Kong SAR, China at 164.38 and Sweden at 162.94. Ireland (rank 4, 162.63) and Australia (rank 5, 161.33) round out the top five. The Netherlands (159.49), Lithuania (158.45), Norway (156.82), the United Kingdom (155.94), and Denmark (155.54) complete the top ten. Poland (rank 11, 154.22) and New Zealand (rank 12, 154.08) sit just outside that group. Scores at this tier generally exceed 150, indicating a combination of broad enrollment across all schooling levels and high harmonized learning outcomes.

The middle of the ranking shows notable diversity. China ranks 57th at 122.53, while Viet Nam reaches rank 58 at 121.96. Kenya enters at rank 76 with a value of 108.53, placing it ahead of Mexico (rank 77, 108.24) and Argentina (rank 78, 107.20). At rank 84, Qatar scores 100.01, just above India at rank 85 with 99.10. The bottom quarter of the ranking includes many sub-Saharan African countries. Nigeria sits at rank 148 with 64.36, while Mali (rank 177, 36.90) and Niger (rank 178, 31.87) are the two lowest-scoring countries. A counterintuitive placement: Kuwait ranks 124th at 79.40, lower than Iraq at rank 121 with 81.75, despite Kuwait's higher income classification relative to many neighboring states.

Several data limitations apply to this metric. The harmonized learning outcomes component relies on assessments that are not uniformly available across all 178 countries, and some scores may reflect older underlying test data blended into the composite. While 91.6% of countries have data from the latest reference year (2025), the remaining 8.4% may involve extrapolated or older observations, which can affect cross-country comparability. The metric covers only formal schooling and does not capture informal learning, vocational training outside formal systems, or adult education acquired after the schooling years. Gender disaggregation here is male-only; results should not be assumed to reflect overall national educational performance. Country-level reporting quality also varies, particularly among lower-income countries, which may affect the precision of scores at the bottom of the ranking.

Methodology

The metric is the Human Capital Index Plus (HCI+) education pillar score, male, sourced from the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code HD_HCIP_EDUC_MA, data year 2025). The source note defines it as follows: it 'aggregates human capital accumulated during formal schooling. This includes pre-school, primary, secondary, and tertiary schooling. The measure also captures learning quality through harmonized learning outcomes.' The scale runs from 0 to 188; higher values indicate greater male educational human capital. Coverage encompasses 178 countries, well above the 80-country minimum threshold. Of these, 172 of 178 (96.6%) have data from the last seven years, and 100% of data points are classified as official sources. No extreme outliers were identified at the 3-sigma threshold. The average year-over-year change is 5.8%, within the 50% volatility threshold. Scores range from 31.87 (Niger) to 170.83 (Korea, Rep.), a spread of 436%. Consistency in the latest reference year stands at 91.6% (163 of 178 countries), meaning a small share of values may reflect prior-year or interpolated observations.

Sources

• World Bank