Türkiye joins ranks of top human development gainers
ANKARA, Türkiye (MNTV) — Türkiye has made notable progress in human development over the past four years, joining the ranks of countries with “Very High Human Development.”
According to newly released data by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), the country’s Human Development Index (HDI) rose from 0.844 in 2018 to 0.854 in 2022—a 1.1% improvement—based on UN Development Programme (UNDP) criteria.
This places Türkiye firmly within the “Very High Development” category, which includes nations scoring 0.8 or above on the index scale ranging from 0 to 1.
The HDI is a composite measure that evaluates a country’s progress based on life expectancy, education, and income. In Türkiye’s case, the biggest gains came from education and income: the education index increased by 3% to reach 0.807, while the income index rose by 2.6% to 0.875. However, the life expectancy component saw a decline of 2.2%, falling to 0.882 in 2022.
At the provincial level, the capital Ankara led with the highest HDI score of 0.891. It was closely followed by Istanbul and Kocaeli (both 0.886), Izmir (0.870), and Muğla (0.867). The lowest HDI scores were recorded in Ağrı (0.748), Şanlıurfa, Van, Muş, and Bitlis.
Provinces showing the most significant progress between 2018 and 2022 included Kilis (up 4.1%), Şırnak (4%), Çankırı and Hakkari (3.9% each), and Ağrı (3.8%).
For the first time, Türkiye has been able to compute its HDI at the provincial level, thanks to newly available data on average and expected years of schooling published in 2023. This move allows for more targeted policy interventions to improve human capital development across the country.
TurkStat underscored that human capital—measured through health, education, and income—is as vital to national development as physical infrastructure. By monitoring HDI trends more closely at both national and regional levels, Türkiye aims to guide policy efforts and reduce disparities between provinces.
The HDI scoring system categorises development levels as follows: above 0.8 is “Very High Human Development,” 0.7–0.8 is “High,” and below 0.55 is considered “Low Human Development.”
As global challenges continue to test resilience and equity, Türkiye’s latest HDI results highlight both the country’s progress and the areas needing further attention, particularly in public health and life expectancy.
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