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Development & Human Capital

114th

of 196 countries placed

Placed from 3 of 3 key statistics

01The evidence

The 3 key statistics that decide it

Only these place India on development & human capital — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.

Why these keys
  1. Key 1 of 3

    Social Protection Coverage

    International Labour Organization (ILO)

    Why it is a key: The share of people covered by at least one social protection benefit: whether the state catches anybody when they fall.

    Latest reading per country, 2015–2025 · India’s is from 2025 · CC BY 4.0

    64.3

    Population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)

    Higher is better

    India: 64.3. Across the 208 countries at their latest reading, values run from 0 (Somalia) to 100 (Switzerland); the world median is 52.1.

    World median
    52.1
    Best in Southern Asia
    100 Iran
    Land neighbours
    Bangladesh 22 · Bhutan 11.9 · China 75.6 · Myanmar 6.3 · Nepal 21 · Pakistan 20.2

    Each grey tick is one of 208 countries at its latest reading, 2015–2025.

  2. Key 2 of 3

    Maternal Mortality Ratio

    UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG)

    Why it is a key: Whether a woman survives giving birth — the reach of a health system at the moment it is hardest to fake.

    2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO

    80.48

    Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

    Lower is better

    India: 80.48. Across the 195 countries in this edition, values run from 0.11 (Cook Islands) to 992.83 (Nigeria); the world median is 46.65.

    World median
    46.65
    Best in Southern Asia
    15.84 Iran
    Land neighbours
    Bangladesh 115.11 · Bhutan 46.65 · China 16.25 · Myanmar 184.64 · Nepal 142.01 · Pakistan 155.03

    Each grey tick is one of 195 countries in the 2023 edition.

  3. Key 3 of 3

    Human Development Index

    UNDP Human Development Report Office

    Why it is a key: The standard composite of health, schooling and income, carrying UNDP's own published rank.

    2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO

    0.685

    HDI score (0–1)

    Higher is better

    Ranked 130th of 193 by UNDP Human Development Report Office

    India: 0.685. Across the 193 countries in this edition, values run from 0.388 (South Sudan) to 0.972 (Iceland); the world median is 0.762.

    World median
    0.762
    Best in Southern Asia
    0.799 Iran
    Land neighbours
    Bangladesh 0.685 · Bhutan 0.698 · China 0.797 · Myanmar 0.609 · Nepal 0.622 · Pakistan 0.544

    Each grey tick is one of 193 countries in the 2023 edition.

03In context

India beside its neighbours

A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 196 countries on development & human capital, never a place within the region.

Southern Asia
1st196thNot placed · 28 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

The whole world on development & human capital

India and the countries it borders

The standing is each country’s place among all 196 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.

CountryStandingSocial Protection CoveragePopulation covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)Maternal Mortality RatioMaternal deaths per 100,000 live birthsHuman Development IndexHDI score (0–1)
China62nd75.616.250.797
India114th64.380.480.685
Bhutan133rd11.946.650.698
Bangladesh138th22115.110.685
Nepal145th21142.010.622
Pakistan154th20.2155.030.544
Myanmar162nd6.3184.640.609

“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.

Across Southern Asia

Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 196.

Placed either side on development & human capital

The countries immediately above and below India in the topic’s list.

04Context, no vote

Where India is ahead of the world, and behind

28 more statistics filed under development & human capital, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.

Every country

Ahead of the world median5

Statistics on which India does better than the middle country measured.

  • Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six MonthsUNICEF · 2024 · world median 40.7463.69No earlier reading

    India: 63.69 · world median 40.74 · Infants under 6 months exclusively breastfed (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 3.497 to 83.3; higher is better.

    Position 16th of 136 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Account Ownership at a Financial InstitutionWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 72.8389.02▲ Improved since 2014

    India: 89.02 · world median 72.83 · Adults with an account (% of population aged 15+). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 14.83 to 99.85; higher is better.

    Position 40th of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Cereal YieldFAO · 2023 · world median 3,0723,602▲ Improved since 2013

    India: 3,602 · world median 3,072 · Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 23 to 29,147; higher is better.

    Position 76th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Statistical Performance IndicatorsWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 69.373.72▼ Worsened since 2016

    India: 73.72 · world median 69.3 · SPI overall score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 27.12 to 94.14; higher is better.

    Position 84th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Poverty Gap at $3.00 a DayWorld Bank Group · 2023 · world median 0.3450.34▲ Improved since 2022

    India: 0.34 · world median 0.345 · Poverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%). World Bank Group, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 19.95; lower is better.

    Position 31st of 59 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

Behind the world median21

Statistics on which India does worse than the middle country measured.

  • Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 2025 · world median 0.0390.069▼ Worsened since 2018

    India: 0.069 · world median 0.039 · MPI (0–1). Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 0.517; lower is better.

    Position 51st of 109 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Planetary pressures-adjusted HDIUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6780.656▲ Improved since 2013

    India: 0.656 · world median 0.678 · PHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.276 to 0.827; higher is better.

    Position 89th of 156 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Access to ElectricityWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 10099.9▲ Improved since 2014

    India: 99.9 · world median 100 · Population with electricity access (%). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 5.4 to 100; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3412.95▲ Improved since 2013

    India: 12.95 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.

    Position 115th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.3510.403▲ Improved since 2013

    India: 0.403 · world median 0.351 · GII (0 = full equality, 1 = maximum inequality). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 0.838; lower is better.

    Ranked 102nd of 172 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • GNI per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 14,2739,910▲ Improved since 2015

    India: 9,910 · world median 14,273 · GNI per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 1,181 to 116,633; higher is better.

    Position 61st of 102 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Child MarriageUNICEF · 2025 · world median 17.123.3No earlier reading

    India: 23.3 · world median 17.1 · Women 20–24 married before 18 (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.3; lower is better.

    Position 56th of 143 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Life Expectancy at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 74.6372▲ Improved since 2013

    India: 72 · world median 74.63 · Years a newborn would live at current death rates. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 54.46 to 86.37; higher is better.

    Position 139th of 222 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Human Capital IndexWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 0.5640.494▲ Improved since 2017

    India: 0.494 · world median 0.564 · HCI score (0–1). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.292 to 0.879; higher is better.

    Position 114th of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2020 dataset

  • GDP per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 17,26510,039▲ Improved since 2015

    India: 10,039 · world median 17,265 · GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 1,067 to 139,593; higher is better.

    Position 124th of 185 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Under-Five Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 14.5426.58▲ Improved since 2014

    India: 26.58 · world median 14.54 · Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 1.26 to 115.65; lower is better.

    Position 63rd of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.489.1No earlier reading

    India: 89.1 · world median 98.4 · Children under 5 whose birth is registered (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 2.7 to 100; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Infant Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 12.2623.35▲ Improved since 2014

    India: 23.35 · world median 12.26 · Deaths before age one (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 1.214 to 71.87; lower is better.

    Position 61st of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6090.475No real change since 2013

    India: 0.475 · world median 0.609 · IHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.226 to 0.923; higher is better.

    Position 120th of 169 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a DayWorld Bank Group · 2023 · world median 0.932.57▲ Improved since 2022

    India: 2.57 · world median 0.93 · Population below $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%). World Bank Group, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 54.36; lower is better.

    Position 18th of 58 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.9336.88▲ Improved since 2013

    India: 6.88 · world median 9.933 · Mean years of schooling (adults 25+). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 1.412 to 14.3; higher is better.

    Position 143rd of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 17.0529.9▲ Improved since 2013

    India: 29.9 · world median 17.05 · Coefficient of Human Inequality (%). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 4.865 to 43.08; lower is better.

    Position 43rd of 169 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveUNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) · 2024 · world median 13.835.47No earlier reading

    India: 35.47 · world median 13.8 · Children under 5 who are stunted (%). UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.518 to 52.8; lower is better.

    Position 18th of 162 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Gender Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.9710.874▲ Improved since 2013

    India: 0.874 · world median 0.971 · Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.407 to 1.038; higher is better.

    Position 165th of 184 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Prosperity GapWorld Bank Group · 2023 · world median 1.7544.947▼ Worsened since 2022

    India: 4.947 · world median 1.754 · Average factor incomes must rise by to reach $28 a day. World Bank Group, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.406 to 12.06; lower is better.

    Position 5th of 60 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a DayWorld Bank Group · 2023 · world median 7.8279.98▼ Worsened since 2022

    India: 79.98 · world median 7.82 · Population below $8.30 a day, 2021 PPP (%). World Bank Group, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.07 to 93.58; lower is better.

    Position 3rd of 59 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

No better end2

These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.

  • Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 11.2613.47Moved since 2015

    India: 13.47 · world median 11.26 · Manufacturing value added (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.481 to 43.97.

    Position 48th of 132 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Net Official Development Assistance ReceivedOECD Development Assistance Committee · 2023 · world median 2.5790.069Moved since 2013

    India: 0.069 · world median 2.579 · Net ODA received (% of GNI). OECD Development Assistance Committee, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from -0.001 to 101.78.

    Position 122nd of 130 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

No current reading for India

Children with Functional Difficulties, Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (last 2013) and Violent Discipline of Children. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.

06The top of the list

Who leads on development & human capital

The three countries placed highest of 196, and the leaders India can most readily be measured against.

All 196 countries
  1. 1

    Cook Islands

    Polynesia

    1st of 196 · 2 of 3 keys

    Photo: Benedict Adam · CC BY 2.0, greyscale

  2. 2

    Norway

    Northern Europe

    2nd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys

    Photo: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

  3. 3

    Denmark

    Northern Europe

    3rd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys

    Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

Placed highest nearby

  1. Highest in Asia

    Israel10th3/3 keys
  2. Highest in Southern Asia

    Iran48th3/3 keys
  3. This page

    India114th3/3 keys

Positions out of 196 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.

08Questions

India on development & human capital: questions answered

Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.

How does India rank on development & human capital?

India is placed 114th of 196 countries on Development & Human Capital in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (Social Protection Coverage, Maternal Mortality Ratio and Human Development Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.

What is the latest Social Protection Coverage figure for India?

64.3 in 2025 (population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 52.1.

What is the latest Maternal Mortality Ratio figure for India?

80.48 in 2023 (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), according to UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). The world median in the same edition was 46.65.

How does India compare with China on development & human capital?

China is placed 62nd of 196, and India 114th. Social Protection Coverage: China 75.6, India 64.3; Maternal Mortality Ratio: China 16.25, India 80.48; Human Development Index: China 0.797, India 0.685.

How have India’s development & human capital figures changed?

Maternal Mortality Ratio fell from 362.3 in 2000 to 80.48 in 2023; Human Development Index rose from 0.501 in 2000 to 0.685 in 2023.

Which development & human capital statistics are missing for India?

No current reading is published for India on Children with Functional Difficulties, Country Policy and Institutional Assessment and Violent Discipline of Children. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.

10Method

Method, sources and how to cite

What this topic does not measure

Poverty lines, inequality and aid received are published here as context rather than as keys, often because they cover fewer countries or are measured too rarely. Development is also not the same as economic size or growth, which belong to Economy & Innovation.

About development & human capital, in full

How the Development & Human Capital standing is decided, step by step

A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.

  1. A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 31 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
  2. Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
  3. Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
  4. Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
  5. The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
  6. A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 196 countries clear the bar here.
  7. A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
  8. A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.

The key statistics and their licences

The other 28 statistics on this page come from 9 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

India’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). India: Development & Human Capital — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/india/development

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