UAE Achieves 15th Global Rank in UN Human Development Index, 1st in Arab World

The United Arab Emirates has cemented its place as a human development global leader. It is now placed 15th worldwide in the United Nations Development Programme’s index of the 2025 Human Development Index (HDI). The UAE is still among countries with “very high human development” with a brilliant score of 0.94, outdoing some of the major developed countries such as Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia, and Korea. Otherwise, the UAE remains the only Arab country in the top 20, which means that its ability to incorporate healthcare, education, and quality of life into a single development model has become a global model.

Exceptional Performance Across Key Development Indicators

The HDI score of the UAE, at 0.94, is a reflection of outstanding performance in all four areas of performance that the United Nations monitors. Life expectancy at birth is now 82.9 years, as it conforms to Sustainable Development Goal 3 on “Good Health and Well-being“. The education metrics indicate equally impressive results, with expected years of schooling being at 15.6 and average years of schooling being at 13, contributing to SDG 4, that is, quality education. These figures depict the determination of the UAE towards establishing human capital through affordable and high-quality education systems for preparing citizens for future struggles.

The economic aspect of the UAE only fortifies the country’s position because gross national income per capita reached $71,142, contributing a lot to SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth. The achievements are highlighted by Abdulrahman bin Mohamed Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, as a further consequence of steady investment of the UAE in developing world-level systems of healthcare that stimulate innovation and guarantee high-quality services to all residents, consistent with the country’s vision of a healthy and sustainable future.

Leading the Way in AI and Human Development

The report in 2025 for Human Development is entitled,” A matter of choice: people and possibilities in the age of Artificial Intelligence’, prioritizes UAE’s future vision in technological advancement. The country occupied the third position in the world in the net migration of AI-skilled professionals in 2023, according to LinkedIn data, as evidence of its need to become a global hub for artificial intelligence talent. This feat falls in line with the UAE’s overall strategy of focusing the country at the forefront of technological development, the human-centered development remaining the primary focus.

Sara bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of Education has emphasised that, education has always featured at the core of the development strategy in the UAE, noting that it has adopted easy going, visioning education policies. Hanan Mansour Ahli, the Managing Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, pointed out that the UAE’s people-oriented approach to development relies on healthcare, education, and innovation as factors that would facilitate the creation of a prosperous and inclusive future. According to the report, there should be collaborative digital economies that involve both humans and AI, with a focus on empowering people through knowledge and technology.