The Human Development Index (HDI), prepared annually by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), measures and ranks countries in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment, and adjusted real income per capita.  A country's overall HDI is a simple average of its score for each of the three criteria.

It is important to note that Armenia has leaped a full 20 positions in almost a decade, which represents the most impressive improvement in the region.

Armenia’s rankings from 1997 to 2005, as well as the rankings of its neighboring countries and other ex-Soviet states, are presented herein. The ranking number represents the country’s position among the countries of the world.

2005 Rankings (full document: click here)

Country	Ranking
Estonia	38
Lithuania	39
Latvia	48
Russia	62
Belarus	67
Ukraine	78
Kazakhstan	80
Armenia	83
Turkey	94
Turkmenistan	97
Iran	99
Georgia	100
Azerbaijan	101
Kyrgyzstan	109
Uzbekistan	111
Moldova	115
Tajikistan	122

Armenia’s Progression since 1997

Progress of the HDI

While Armenia’s Human Development Index dropped after its independence – due to political and economic turmoil - the following chart demonstrates that since 1995, Armenia’s HDI has grown steadily, and has now comfortably surpassed its pre-independence level.