The World Economic Forum, for the first time, released its list of the most successful countries in the world in terms of maximising the long-term economic potential of their respective labour forces, the Human Capital Index.

The Human Capital Index ranks countries on their ability to develop and deploy healthy, educated and able workers through four essential factors - Education, Health and Wellness, Workforce and Employment and Enabling Environment.

Top 5 countries on the list are:

Switzerland

Switzerland is at no. 1 on Human Capital Index

Finland

Finland is at no. 2 on the HUman Capital Index

Singapore

Singapore is at no. 3 on the Human Capital Index

Netherlands

Netherlands is at no. 4 on Human Capital Index

Sweden

Sweden is at no. 5 on Human Capital Index

Australia made it to number 19 because of its high score in the Workforce and Employment and Enabling Environment. The country also performs remarkably on Educational Attainment.

New Zealand, which made it to number 12, scores remarkably with their Legal Framework and Social Mobility. The country showed strength in education as well.

Canada, on number 10, is the highest of the entire North American region due to its remarkable scores on Education. The country also has the highest tertiary attainment levels of all the countries in the Human Capital Index. In fact, its qualitative measures are significantly higher than that of the United States.

Other countries which made to the top 20 are:

Germany (6), Norway (7), United Kingdom (8), Denmark (9), Belgium (11), Austria (13), Iceland (14), Japan (15), United States (16), Luxembourg (17), Qatar (18) and Iceland (20).

While Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria and Yemen are on the bottom 5 ranking at numbers 94-122.

About the Human Capital Index:

The World Economic Forum's Human Capital Index assesses 122 countries, representing over 90% of the world's population, by measuring contributors and inhibitors to the development and deployment of a healthy, educated and able labour force. The Index consists of four pillars:

  • The Education pillar captures access, quality and attainment aspects of education across primary, secondary and tertiary levels, across age cohorts.
  • The Health and Wellness pillar assesses a population's physical and mental well-being, from childhood to adulthood.
  • The Workforce and Employment pillar aims to quantify the experience, talent, training and skills mismatches in a country's working-age population.
  • The Enabling Environment pillar captures the legal framework, infrastructure and other factors that enable returns on human capital.