Human Development & Quality of Life in Guatemala
Human Development
Guatemala's 2023 HDI is 0.662, placing it 137 in UNDP's table and in the medium human development category. Reading beyond the headline, the health component is anchored by life expectancy of 72.6 years. A second lens is equally relevant here: Planetary pressures reduce the adjusted index to 0.626, a 5.4% change from HDI.
What sits inside Guatemala's HDI
In the UNDP data used here, the UNDP inputs behind Guatemala's HDI are 72.6 for life expectancy, 10.7 for expected years of schooling, 5.8 for mean years of schooling and $12,459 GNI per capita in 2021 PPP dollars. These figures show what sits behind the composite score.
Inequality changes the headline
IHDI reframes Guatemala's HDI by accounting for unequal outcomes within the population. That is a different question from how satisfied people say they are with life. For the evidence on this page, retain the original indicator definition instead of collapsing separate dimensions into one label.
Gender and planetary-pressure adjustments
Alongside the headline HDI, the published data for Guatemala include GDI 0.934, GII 0.480, PHDI 0.626. They complement one another, but none is treated as a substitute for another. When the indicator is reused, do not substitute a different denominator rather than creating a broader claim than the source supports.
Quality-of-life coverage is conditional
A comparable life-satisfaction observation was not available in the OECD extract used for Guatemala. No value is inferred when the underlying source does not publish one. For a like-for-like reading, do not substitute a different denominator because the evidence is strongest when each metric keeps its own scope.
What Guatemala's numbers say together
Guatemala's additional indicators read as IHDI 0.479 with a 27.6% loss; PHDI 0.626 after a 5.4% adjustment; GDI 0.934. The indicators add context without becoming a single composite DigifyWorld rating.
For 2023, Guatemala records HDI 0.662 and rank 137 in the UNDP table. The result should be read as a composite of health, schooling and income outcomes.
The IHDI is 0.479, and UNDP reports an overall loss of 27.6% relative to the headline index.
The GDI value is 0.934 in group 3; it should be read alongside, not merged into, HDI.
The PHDI is 0.626, with a 5.4% adjustment from the HDI value in UNDP's 2023 table.
Frequently asked questions
What is Guatemala's HDI?
Guatemala's 2023 Human Development Index is 0.662, corresponding to UNDP rank 137 in the 2025 report.
How does inequality affect Guatemala's HDI?
IHDI for Guatemala is 0.479 in the 2023 table. That represents a 27.6% reduction from the headline development index.
Why is there no life satisfaction score on this page?
Quality-of-life data for Guatemala appear only when the page can tie the value to a comparable source and year.
Is HDI the same as quality of life?
No. HDI combines health, education and income. Life satisfaction is shown only as a separate subjective well-being measure.
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.