Countries by Human capital index plus (HCI+): overall score, male (scale 0”“325)

Ranking 2025

Analysis

The HCI+ overall score for males measures the productivity of a child born today as a future worker relative to the benchmark of full health, complete education, and full employment in wage employment, calculating the contributions of health, education, and on-the-job learning to worker productivity. Scores run from 0 to 325, with higher values indicating greater human capital productivity. The unit is an absolute value on that scale. Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators under indicator code HD_HCIP_OVRL_MA. The dataset covers 170 countries, all above the 80-country minimum threshold for viable coverage. Of these, 165 of 170 countries (97.1%) have data from the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints are classified as official-quality sources. No extreme outliers were detected at the 3-standard-deviation threshold, and the average year-over-year change of 4.7% indicates stable, low-volatility data. The data year is 2025.

The top of the ranking is dominated by high-income European nations and a small number of high-performing economies elsewhere. The Netherlands (rank 1, 273.30), Australia (rank 2, 273.01), Ireland (rank 3, 272.56), and the United Arab Emirates (rank 4, 272.43) are clustered within less than one point of each other, with Sweden (rank 5, 271.92) and Korea, Rep. (rank 6, 271.16) close behind. Norway (rank 7, 266.85), Switzerland (rank 8, 266.63), Denmark (rank 9, 265.89), and New Zealand (rank 10, 265.61) complete the top ten. The compression at the top is notable: the difference between rank 1 and rank 10 is only 7.69 points, while the full range across all 170 countries spans 184.15 points.

The middle of the ranking shows considerable diversity. China ranks 51st at 216.21, while Brazil sits at rank 58 with a score of 209.69, and India ranks 93rd at 181.32. Several sub-Saharan African countries cluster near the bottom: South Africa ranks 147th at 127.71, Nigeria ranks 140th at 133.88, and Ethiopia ranks 139th at 135.43. A notable anomaly is the placement of the Russian Federation at rank 27 with a score of 247.40, ahead of Belgium (rank 28, 246.16) and Israel (rank 29, 245.92), and the United Arab Emirates at rank 4 with 272.43, placing it ahead of all Western European nations except the Netherlands, Australia, Ireland, and Sweden in terms of the male HCI+ score. Seychelles (rank 48, 222.03) scores higher than Bulgaria (rank 49, 220.83) and Montenegro (rank 50, 219.51), placing it competitively among Eastern European nations.

This metric captures only the male dimension of the HCI+; it does not represent overall population-level human capital and should not be compared directly with gender-neutral or female HCI+ rankings. The on-the-job learning component may be harder to measure consistently across countries with large informal labour sectors, which could compress or distort scores for lower-income countries. Countries where data are older than seven years (5 of 170, or 2.9%) may not reflect recent changes. The 92.9% consistency rate for the latest data year (2025) means approximately 12 countries rely on estimates or interpolations for their 2025 figure. The index measures potential productivity relative to a theoretical benchmark, not actual labour market outcomes, so high scores do not confirm high real-world earnings or employment rates.

Methodology

The metric is the Human Capital Index Plus (HCI+) overall score for males, measured on an absolute scale from 0 to 325. Per the source definition, it calculates the contributions of health, education, and on-the-job learning to worker productivity, and measures the productivity of a child born today as a future worker relative to the benchmark of full health, complete education, and full employment in wage employment. Data are sourced from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code HD_HCIP_OVRL_MA, with a reference data year of 2025. The dataset covers 170 countries, exceeding the 80-country coverage threshold. Recency is high: 165 of 170 countries (97.1%) have data from within the last seven years. All datapoints (100%) are classified as official quality, above the 70% threshold. No extreme outliers were identified at the 3-standard-deviation level. Average year-over-year volatility is 4.7%, well below the 50% concern threshold. Scores range from 89.15 (Djibouti, rank 170) to 273.30 (Netherlands, rank 1), a spread of 206.6%. Consistency for the 2025 data year stands at 92.9%, meaning approximately 12 countries use modelled or interpolated values for the most recent year.

Sources

• World Bank