The Human Capital Index (HCI) is an annual measurement prepared by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. HCI measures which countries are best in mobilizing their

human capital Human capital or human assets is a concept used by economists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a subs ...

, the economic and professional potential of their citizens. The index measures how much capital each country loses through lack of education and health. The index ranges between 0 and 1, with 1 meaning maximum potential is reached. HCI is used in country studies of employment and wages, for example in Ukraine after Russia's invasion.

Methodology

The applications to measuring human capital were developed in research by Noam Angrist,

Simeon Djankov Simeon Dyankov (, also Djankov; born July 13, 1970) is a Bulgarian economist and chairman of the Fiscal Council since March 2025. From 2009 to 2013, he was the deputy prime minister and minister of finance of Bulgaria in the government of Boyko ...

, Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, and Harry Patrinos in the scientific journal ''Nature''. These findings were popularized in a 2021 article. HCI is grounded on the following three pillars: Survival * Percentage of children surviving past the age of 5 School * Quantity of education (Expected years of schooling by age 18) * Quality of education (Harmonized test scores) Health * Adult survival rates (Percentage of 15-year-olds who survive until age 60) * Healthy growth among children ( Stunting rates of children under 5)

History

The Human Capital Index was first published as part of the

World Development Report The World Development Report (WDR) is an annual report published since 1978 by the World Bank. Each WDR provides in-depth analysis of a specific aspect of economic development. Past reports have considered such topics as agriculture, youth, equity ...

2019, directed by

and World Bank chief economist Federica Saliola (https://live.worldbank.org/en/experts/f/federica-saliola ).

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner

Paul Romer Paul Michael Romer (born November 6, 1955) is an American economist and policy entrepreneur who is a Seidner University Professor in Finance at Boston College. Romer is best known as the former Chief Economist of the World Bank and for co- ...

started the measurement.

List of countries by HCI

References

External links

Measuring Human Capital
{{Authority control Economics publications International rankings Global economic indicators

Methodology

History

List of countries by HCI

See also

References

External links