Human Development & Quality of Life in Ecuador
HDI 0.777 · UNDP rank 88 · latest published data
In UNDP's 2023 index data, Ecuador has HDI 0.777 and rank 88, which corresponds to high human development. More revealing for this profile, Distribution materially changes the headline, with IHDI 0.640 and a 17.6% loss from HDI. At the same time, planetary pressures reduce the adjusted index to 0.735, a 5.4% change from HDI.
What sits inside Ecuador's HDI
For Ecuador, health contributes through life expectancy of 77.4; education through 14.9 expected and 9.0 mean years of schooling; and income through GNI per capita of $13,986 in 2021 PPP dollars. Those are the published inputs behind the 2023 HDI. When looking across the UNDP tables, retain the original indicator definition before using the result as a shorthand for lived experience.
Inequality changes the headline
IHDI reframes Ecuador's HDI by accounting for unequal outcomes within the population. That is a different question from how satisfied people say they are with life.
Gender and planetary-pressure adjustments
For the 2023 development snapshot, Ecuador has additional UNDP measures of GDI 0.998, GII 0.358, PHDI 0.735. These measures remain distinct because they measure different aspects of development.
Quality-of-life coverage is conditional
The OECD comparison used here does not provide a life-satisfaction observation that this Ecuador page can reproduce. The absence of a published observation is preserved explicitly.
What Ecuador's numbers say together
Taken alongside HDI, Ecuador's profile includes IHDI 0.640 with a 17.6% loss; PHDI 0.735 after a 5.4% adjustment; GDI 0.998. The indicators add context without becoming a single composite DigifyWorld rating.
UNDP reports a 2023 HDI of 0.777 for Ecuador, with rank 88. That headline measure is useful for development comparison, but it is not a complete quality-of-life score.
The IHDI is 0.640, and UNDP reports an overall loss of 17.6% relative to the headline index.
The GDI value is 0.998 in group 1; it should be read alongside, not merged into, HDI.
The PHDI is 0.735, with a 5.4% adjustment from the HDI value in UNDP's 2023 table.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ecuador's HDI?
For Ecuador, the 2025 UNDP report publishes a 2023 HDI value of 0.777 and rank 88.
How does inequality affect Ecuador's HDI?
IHDI for Ecuador is 0.640 in the 2023 table. That represents a 17.6% reduction from the headline development index.
Why is there no life satisfaction score on this page?
Ecuador's page adds a quality-of-life measure only when a comparable dated observation can be sourced. An unavailable observation remains omitted rather than estimated.
Is HDI the same as quality of life?
No. The HDI calculation does not include every aspect of quality of life. A life-satisfaction result is not an input to HDI and remains a separate quality-of-life signal.
Sources & methodology
Sources for the development indicators and definitions shown above.
View sources used for this page
Primary source for 2023 HDI and its components, plus IHDI, GDI, GII and PHDI where reported.
Report edition underlying the 2023 human-development indices and ranking.
Data note: Reference years are shown with each indicator; unavailable observations remain unfilled.