• India has dropped one spot to be ranked 131 among 189 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) for the year 2019, according to the Human Development Report (HDR) 2020 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 16 December 2020.
• India was at 130th spot in HDI 2018.
• The HDI score of India for 2019 is 0.645, which put the country in the medium human development category.
• The Human Development Index (HDI) measures the nation’s health, education, and standards of living.
• Norway has topped the index with score of 0.957, followed by Ireland and Switzerland sharing at second spot, and Hong Kong, Iceland and Germany as top 5.
• Niger is the lowest ranked countrya at 189, placed among Low human development category, with a score of 0.394.

Top 10 Countries in HDI Index 2019 are :

1. Norway (HDI value – 0.957)
2. Ireland (HDI value – 0.955)
3. Switzerland (HDI value – 0.955)
4. Hong Kong, China (SAR) – (HDI value – 0.949)
5. Iceland – (HDI value – 0.949)
6. Germany – (HDI value – 0.947)
7. Sweden – (HDI value – 0.945)
8. Australia – (HDI value – 0.944)
9. Netherlands – (HDI value – 0.944)
10.  Denmark (HDI value – 0.940)