What the UN Human Development Report says about the US

Of the components of the HDI, only income and gross enrolment are responsive to short term policy changes. For that reason, it is important to examine changes in the human development index over time.

The Human Development Index (HDI) trends tell an important story over time. Between 1980 and 2007 United States's HDI rose by 0.25% annually from 0.894 to 0.956 today. HDI scores in all regions have increased progressively over the years, although all have experienced periods of slower growth or even reversals.
This gives the US a rank of 13^th out of 182 countries with data.

Notice that the US falls down in life expectancy with a 26 rating that most experts attribute to the US health care system. The Gross Enrolment Ratio is an education measurement and the US is 21st. Our GDP is ninth in the world, but wages have been flat for the middle class for the last two decades. Most of the GDP growth has been for upper income Americans.

Notice also that the US does poorly in the Gender Development Index (GDI) placing 105th of the 192 UN nations.

See the complete UN report on the US at http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_USA.html

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