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Ten Highest HDI Countries in Africa

Name the 10 African countries with the highest quality of life as measured by the Human Development Index.
2021/2022 HDI Report. Data from the year 2021.
HDI measures income, life expectancy, and education
Quiz by nhweston1997
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Last updated: November 2, 2022
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First submittedApril 22, 2014
Times taken62,034
Average score70.0%
Rating4.76
1:30
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HDI
Population
Country
0.802
1.30 mil
Mauritius
0.785
0.106 mil
Seychelles
0.745
43.8 mil
Algeria
0.731
12.2 mil
Tunisia
0.731
108 mil
Egypt
HDI
Population
Country
0.718
6.70 mil
Libya
0.713
59.1 mil
South Africa
0.706
2.32 mil
Gabon
0.693
2.57 mil
Botswana
0.683
37.5 mil
Morocco
+7
Level 62
Mar 27, 2017
So, why do the island nations have highest HDI? No nearby states to war with?
+78
Level 53
Jun 19, 2017
No nearby wars + a good tourist industry + smaller population I guess
+9
Level 75
Dec 5, 2018
Small island states (island states with populations under a million) do stand to benefit from tourism money spread between few people. None of that is to suggest that such money will necessarily benefit many, or that those states will do much to capture a significant portion of it and use it for health and education - the two other social aspects that are measured along with income in the HDI.
+7
Level 79
Nov 29, 2019
The Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Cape Verde are also African island nations.
+6
Level 59
Dec 19, 2020
And Madagascar, but that's a bit too big to follow the pattern
+6
Level 53
Apr 6, 2020
There actually was a recent war in the Comoros, when African Union forces invaded the island of Anjouan.
+3
Level 44
May 28, 2020
Seychelles are technically socialist thats why
+21
Level 87
Feb 11, 2021
That has not been true for three decades now.
+34
Level 73
Feb 24, 2021
Socialism is not a magical powder that makes countries rich
+6
Level ∞
Nov 2, 2022
In the case of Mauritius, Seychelles, and Cape Verde they don't share a history with the rest of Africa, being uninhabited until the last few hundred years.

https://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/most-recently-settled-countries

+10
Level 90
Mar 28, 2017
So basically it's the name the countries that border the Mediterranean, small island countries, Commonwealth countries that haven't had recent civil wars and Gabon. The next two hold to that pattern as well.
+31
Level 59
Dec 19, 2020
You can't name three different patterns, with an exception that doesn't fit into any of them, and pretend that that makes it easy.
+7
Level 58
Sep 10, 2021
Especially when there's only ten answers
+1
Level 83
Jan 1, 2023
Well, Gabon's in the Commonwealth now so it fits a bit better.
+1
Level 51
Mar 28, 2017
The safest place to be in Africa is...not really in Africa. I guess that makes sense - it's a tumultuous country. But even with the flag I was thinking - Really? The SEYCHELLES?!
+46
Level 59
Jun 14, 2017
Continent, not a country
+33
Level 50
Jun 12, 2018
Most parts of Africa are very safe. This is about HDI not safety. Also Africa is a continent, not a country.
+1
Level 67
Mar 28, 2017
what about equatorial guinea? PPP of $35K+
+18
Level 80
Mar 28, 2017
A small amount of the people there control the wealth. It's mainly in the hands of the dictators family.
+2
Level 79
Nov 29, 2019
And due to the abundance of oil there. Currently the country's GDP per capita is decreasing.
+6
Level 66
Apr 6, 2020
A high GDP does not guarentees a good HDI
+11
Level 63
Mar 28, 2017
The flag was a dead giveaway.
+1
Level 89
Dec 14, 2019
To me it just looks like Google Maps.
+2
Level 59
Dec 19, 2020
You're joking right?
+2
Level 58
Oct 17, 2020
If you know Seychelle's flag you probably also know island nations have an advantage, or that Seychelles has the highest GDP per capita in africa
+1
Level 28
Mar 28, 2017
I bet no one would have gotten Seychelles if the flag wasn't on the top ;))
+10
Level 90
Apr 3, 2017
Why is that? Not many countries in Africa have a smaller population than metropolises such as Lawton Oklahoma or Scranton Pennsylvania. Especially when you see the pattern of the countries on the list.
+30
Level 67
Jun 14, 2017
I didn't even know which flag that was, and I got Seychelles. I guesses all the little island countries first. It makes the most sense, both because it's easier for countries with low populations to prosper, because access to water usually means access to food, and because the natural boundaries spare those countries from so much of the violence and upheaval that plagues the African mainland.
+7
Level 75
Jun 15, 2017
You typed the words right out of my mouth.
+1
Level 75
Dec 6, 2018
I think Seychelles would have been the first thing I typed
+2
Level 82
Jun 14, 2017
What happened to Equatorial Guinea? I thought they were way ahead of the rest of Africa. Now they rank below Botswana??
+13
Level 80
Jun 14, 2017
Most Equatoguineans live in poverty. The oil money goes to US companies and the dictators family.
+16
Level 75
Dec 5, 2018
Equatoguineans? First time I've seen that word. Thank you, my new fact of the day.
+1
Level 53
Jan 1, 2023
Botswana is a highly developed country!
+2
Level 42
Jun 14, 2017
Gabon was a lucky guess from me, other than that, pretty happy with 100% score.
+6
Level 68
Jun 14, 2017
Is the Seychelles anyone else's favorites national flag? Because it's mine.
+4
Level 66
Dec 5, 2018
I got it cause my sister Sue sells sea shells by the sea shore there.
+3
Level 67
Dec 10, 2018
she sells sea shells by the seashore in the seychelles
+1
Level 22
Jun 14, 2017
Since I saw Seychelles on the flag, along with it I guessed Mauritius, Cape Verde, Comoros and Sao Tome. I got 2 out of 4 correct.
+1
Level 66
Jun 14, 2017
Very tough quiz. I only got 4. I thought Libya and Cape Verde were quite poor.
+13
Level 90
Jun 14, 2017
It's more of an indictment of the rest of the continent than anything praise worthy they are doing. The only country in the entirety of the Americas or Europe that is appreciably worse is Haiti. So think of all the problems in El Salvador or Bolivia or Moldova and you'll get a picture of what it's like in one of the better places in Africa.
+3
Level 74
Jun 14, 2017
I'm always surprised how Rwanda doesn't show up on these lists. From what I've just studied online, everything seems to be going rather smoothly over there.
+6
Level 64
Oct 4, 2018
You're right but it takes years to be in that rankings.
+1
Level 44
Dec 22, 2018
Yes I tried Rwanda too for the same reason, I’ve heard lots about its progress
+3
Level 45
Apr 6, 2020
Outside Kigali(which is my favorite city in Africa) the country is quite rural, and as a result poor. the average GDP per capita is less than $750.
+2
Level 71
Feb 24, 2021
Also, from what I can tell, Rwanda started out from basically the bottom (or close to the bottom) after its internal conflicts and genocide in the '90s. The growth they have had is impressive indeed (they are at about the same HDI as Nigeria now), but because they started out so low, the progress they have made has only gotten them so far.
+7
Level 77
Oct 4, 2018
Amazing that Libya makes the list considering they don't even have a single government with control over the whole country. Also, there are parts of Spain, Portugal and Italy in the African continent. Shouldn't they feature on the list?
+4
Level 72
Oct 4, 2018
where would Italy have parts in Africa?!?
+1
Level 70
Oct 15, 2018
While Italy is ofc wrong, I really love CardinalSin's mocking of the ambigous title. :-D
+1
Level 77
Nov 29, 2019
Lampedusa, Pantellaria, Linosa.
+1
Level 58
Oct 17, 2020
All of those are Mediterranean islands incorporated into Sicily. A bit of a stretch there to say Italy has land in Africa
+5
Level 82
Dec 2, 2018
Making a top 10 list of high HDI in Africa is a very low bar to clear. That's really the only reason.
+1
Level 29
Jan 3, 2021
I don't think that would count since, for all the countries you named, their capitals are all in Europe.
+4
Level 63
Dec 5, 2018
Why is Libya on the list, they don't even control most of their country
+5
Level 82
Dec 5, 2018
High life expectancy, high income, and high standards of education compared to the rest of the continent. Libya is not doing so well right now, but Tripoli losing control over parts of the country isn't going to have an immediate impact on those three things, and when your competition is Niger and Burundi, well...
+1
Level 74
Dec 5, 2018
I don't know if it tells anything about HDI, but from what I've understood, you can quite comfortably shop in stores like M&S and H&M nowadays in Tripoli.
+1
Level 74
Dec 5, 2018
Also what I've heard, the majority of university students in Libya are female. Still not directly about HDI but I think that's sign of a developed country.
+3
Level 82
Dec 5, 2018
To your last comment: maybe. It could also be a sign that they were lagging behind in gender equality and only recently has the gap started narrowing and they're still in a period of catching up. I think that's at least part of the reason why female university enrollment in Saudi Arabia is presently so high. And the fact that there are more women currently studying to be doctors there than men may at first seem to point toward a progressive society until you realize that the reason why demand for female doctors is so high is because of a backward sex-segregated culture that makes it impossible for male doctors to treat female patients, creating a situation where healthcare for women is extremely inadequate.
+1
Level 82
Apr 6, 2019
^anyway my point was be careful when looking at a single data point that paints a very narrow and misleading picture. Same thing happens in the USA when they look at the difference in mean wages between men and women, when American women are some of the most privileged people on the planet.
+1
Level 50
Dec 1, 2022
If you think American women are privileged, wait until you hear about American men...
+2
Level 82
Jan 1, 2023
I've heard about and lived the experience. Women in the US are substantially more privileged and have been since at least the closing decades of the 20th century. Not to imply that American men are less privileged than those in Libya...
+2
Level 68
Dec 5, 2018
Basically, stick to the far North, far South, Eastern Islands and Gabon (which is in the middle of the likes of DRC, CAR, Cameroon and Nigeria..
+1
Level 47
Dec 5, 2018
Given the recent tourism boom in Cape Verde, it may make this list soon.
+2
Level 32
Dec 10, 2018
Didn't expect Libya, let alone for it to be higher than South Africa.
+2
Level 58
May 25, 2019
Try the northern countries bordering the Mediterranean, the islands in the Indian Ocean, and the oil-producing countries with small populations. Then try southern countries and countries where they are trying to fight corruption. That gets the five northern countries, Seychelles and Mauritius, Gabon, Soputh Africa, and Botswana. That would leave you typing the 'extra' countries of Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, and Rwanda, all of which are close in the rankings and would in some years be in the top ten.
+5
Level 50
Jan 26, 2020
Really? Libya on it and Rwanda isnt
+3
Level 45
Apr 6, 2020
Outside Kigali(which is my favorite city in Africa) the country is quite rural, and as a result poor. the average GDP per capita is less than $750.
+2
Level 80
Apr 13, 2022
Not sure about everyone else but I think this comment may have been copied and pasted
+1
Level 72
Jan 5, 2023
Hey, why not? It was the same person both times, and they've answered people's questions.
+1
Level 79
Apr 6, 2020
This quiz should be updated to show data from the 2019 report.
+5
Level 93
Apr 6, 2020
I love how a country with an active slave trade, civil war and terrorists ruling large regions somehow makes the top 10...
+1
Level 72
Feb 24, 2021
I know, but it's difficult to find ten nations situated entirely in Africa that are problem-free.
+3
Level 93
Feb 24, 2021
Tanzania, Ghana, and Rwanda all are much better to live in and should all be above Libya.
+6
Level 60
Feb 24, 2021
It's tough to believe that Libya has a high living standards than Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. Anyone want to live there?
+1
Level 61
Feb 24, 2021
10/10 on second try. I think that HDI is a good measuring factor of a country because it tells you about the people's lives.
+1
Level 59
Feb 24, 2021
I was purposely trying to avoid Libya but apparently it was on there! XD
+1
Level 37
Feb 25, 2021
Libya over Rwanda? I doubt that...
+3
Level ∞
Nov 2, 2022
Rwanda is one of the world's poorest countries. It's HDI is comparable to Haiti and Uganda.
+1
Level 69
Jan 1, 2023
...why?
+1
Level 56
Nov 27, 2023
HAHAHHSHAHA I GOT GABON AT THE LAST SECOND