Human Development & Quality of Life in Marshall Islands
HDI 0.733 · UNDP rank 108 · latest published data
For 2023, Marshall Islands records HDI 0.733 and UNDP rank 108; that headline belongs to the high human development category. The aggregate hides useful detail: Distribution materially changes the headline, with IHDI 0.626 and a 14.6% loss from HDI. The profile also records that the income component uses GNI per capita of $7,224 in 2021 PPP dollars.
What sits inside Marshall Islands' HDI
On this page, Marshall Islands' 2023 HDI inputs include life expectancy of 66.9, expected schooling of 16.4, mean schooling of 11.6, and GNI per capita of $7,224 in 2021 PPP dollars. Together they explain the headline index without turning any single input into a separate ranking.
Inequality changes the headline
The inequality-adjusted measure for the Marshall Islands applies a distribution penalty to the same three HDI dimensions. It should therefore be read alongside HDI, not as a separate life-satisfaction score.
Gender and planetary-pressure adjustments
Marshall Islands' complementary UNDP indicators include GDI 0.960. Reading them together is useful, but combining them would obscure their different definitions.
Quality-of-life coverage is conditional
No comparable OECD life-satisfaction observation is published on this page for the Marshall Islands. No value is inferred when the underlying source does not publish one. For a like-for-like reading, avoid turning the indicator into a general country score so the limitation remains visible to the reader.
What Marshall Islands' numbers say together
Marshall Islands' non-headline measures include IHDI 0.626 with a 14.6% loss; GDI 0.960. Reading them together is useful, but combining them would obscure their different definitions.
Marshall Islands' HDI is 0.733 for 2023, placing it at UNDP rank 108. The index summarizes health, education and income rather than every dimension of day-to-day well-being.
The IHDI is 0.626, and UNDP reports an overall loss of 14.6% relative to the headline index.
The GDI value is 0.960 in group 2; it should be read alongside, not merged into, HDI.
Frequently asked questions
What is Marshall Islands' HDI?
For the 2023 observation year, UNDP reports HDI 0.733 and rank 108 for the Marshall Islands.
How does inequality affect Marshall Islands' HDI?
The UNDP inequality adjustment gives Marshall Islands an IHDI of 0.626, with an overall loss of 14.6% from the unadjusted HDI. When the indicator is reused, separate the measure from subjective well-being before comparing it with a quality-of-life observation.
Why is there no life satisfaction score on this page?
For Marshall Islands, subjective well-being is shown only with a verified comparable observation, a missing source value is shown as unavailable.
Is HDI the same as quality of life?
No. The HDI calculation does not include every aspect of quality of life. Subjective well-being is kept outside the HDI calculation.
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.