Human Development Index (HDI) - 2010 Rankings

Bulgaria is the fifty-eighth best country in the world to live, according to an annual UN rating, with Norway topping the list yet again.

The assessment came in a so-called human development index, a measure of well-being published by the UN Development Program for the past 20 years that combines individual economic prosperity with education levels and life expectancy.

Norway does not top any individual category -- average income in Liechtenstein is a wallet-busting 81,011 dollars and Japan's life expectancy is 83.6 years -- but Norway's all-round performance gave it superiority in the UN Development Programme (UNDP) 20th annual rankings.

Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Ireland followed at the top of the standings.

Zimbabwe came in last among the 169 nations ranked, behind Mozambique, Burundi, Niger and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bulgaria made its way to spot number 58 out of 169 countries in the list, up by three spots in comparison with its ranking last year.

Overall, the index contained some significant changes near the top compared with last year, with the United States rising from 13th to fourth and Iceland — hard hit by the global financial crisis — plummeting from third to 17th.

"
The overall message is actually quite positive,"
Jeni Klugman, lead author of the report, told journalists. "
What we find is that the world is much better off than it was,"
including a doubling of incomes in real terms over 40 years.

"
On average rich countries have grown faster than poor ones over the past 40 years,"
said the report.

"
The divide between developed and developing countries persists: a small subset of countries has remained at the top of the world income distribution and only a handful of countries that started out poor have joined that high income group,"
it concluded.



Very High Human Development

1. Norway
2. Australia
3. New Zealand
4. United States
5. Ireland
6. Liechtenstein
7. Netherlands
8. Canada
9. Sweden
10. Germany
11. Japan
12. Korea (Republic of)
13. Switzerland
14. France
15. Israel
16. Finland
17. Iceland
18. Belgium
19. Denmark
20. Spain
21. Hong Kong, China (SAR)
22. Greece
23. Italy
24. Luxembourg
25. Austria
26. United Kingdom
27. Singapore
28. Czech Republic
29. Slovenia
30. Andorra
31. Slovakia
32. United Arab Emirates
33. Malta
34. Estonia
35. Cyprus
36. Hungary
37. Brunei Darussalam
38. Qatar
39. Bahrain
40. Portugal
41. Poland
42. Barbados


High Human Development

43. Bahamas
44. Lithuania
45. Chile
46. Argentina
47. Kuwait
48. Latvia
49. Montenegro
50. Romania
51. Croatia
52. Uruguay
53. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
54. Panama
55. Saudi Arabia
56. Mexico
57. Malaysia
58. Bulgaria
59. Trinidad and Tobago
60. Serbia
61. Belarus
62. Costa Rica
63. Peru
64. Albania
65. Russian Federation
66. Kazakhstan
67. Azerbaijan
68. Bosnia and Herzegovina
69. Ukraine
70. Iran (Islamic Republic of)
71. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
72. Mauritius
73. Brazil
74. Georgia
75. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
76. Armenia
77. Ecuador
78. Belize
79. Colombia
80. Jamaica
81. Tunisia
82. Jordan
83. Turkey
84. Algeria
85. Tonga


Medium Human Development

86. Fiji
87. Turkmenistan
88. Dominican Republic
89. China
90. El Salvador
91. Sri Lanka
92. Thailand
93. Gabon
94. Suriname
95. Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
96. Paraguay
97. Philippines
98. Botswana
99. Moldova (Republic of)
100. Mongolia
101. Egypt
102. Uzbekistan
103. Micronesia (Federated States of)
104. Guyana
105. Namibia
106. Honduras
107. Maldives
108. Indonesia
109. Kyrgyzstan
110. South Africa
111. Syrian Arab Republic
112. Tajikistan
113. Viet Nam
114. Morocco
115. Nicaragua
116. Guatemala
117. Equatorial Guinea
118. Cape Verde
119. India
120. Timor-Leste
121. Swaziland
122. Lao People's Democratic Republic
123. Solomon Islands
124. Cambodia
125. Pakistan
126. Congo
127. São Tomé and Príncipe


Low Human Development

128. Kenya
129. Bangladesh
130. Ghana
131. Cameroon
132. Myanmar
133. Yemen
134. Benin
135. Madagascar
136. Mauritania
137. Papua New Guinea
138. Nepal
139. Togo
140. Comoros
141. Lesotho
142. Nigeria
143. Uganda
144. Senegal
145. Haiti
146. Angola
147. Djibouti
148. Tanzania (United Republic of)
149. Côte d'Ivoire
150. Zambia
151. Gambia
152. Rwanda
153. Malawi
154. Sudan
155. Afghanistan
156. Guinea
157. Ethiopia
158. Sierra Leone
159. Central African Republic
160. Mali
161. Burkina Faso
162. Liberia
163. Chad
164. Guinea-Bissau
165. Mozambique
166. Burundi
167. Niger
168. Congo (Democratic Republic of the)
169. Zimbabwe