Bulgaria Ranks 58th by Human Development Index

Bulgaria ranks 58th in the list of countries in the 2014 Human Development Report (HDR) released on 24 July in Tokyo.

The HDR covers 187 countries across the world and is published annually by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Bulgaria belongs to the group of countries characterized by high human development.

Bulgaria's human development index (HDI), a measure derived from life expectancy, education levels and incomes, stood at 0.777 in 2013 (compared to 0.776 in 2012).

In comparison, Norway ranked first with 0.9444.

Bulgaria's position remained unchanged in the period 2012-2013, at 58th place.

The average life expectancy in Bulgaria was 73.5 years.

In Australia and Switzerland, which rank second and third, the life expectancy was 82.5 and 82.6 years, respectively.

In 2012, the mean period of schooling in Bulgaria amounted to 10.6 years, while the best standards require a period of over 14 years.

The gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity stood at USD 15 402.

In the latest edition of the report, the top five countries ranked in terms of the HDI were Norway, Australia, Switzerland, Netherlands and the US, while the bottom five were Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Chad and Sierra Leone.

According to the report, about 1.2 billion people survive on the equivalent of USD 1.25 or less per day, while 1.5 billion people in 91 developing states live in poverty.