United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has ranked the Maldives in second place in human development in the South Asia region.
In the UNDP Human Development Report 2021-2022, the Maldives was ranked 90th overall based on the data collected for the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2021. The HDI value of the Maldives is 0.747, which is an increase of 0.013 compared to 2020. Sri Lanka was ranked first in South Asia and 73rd overall, while Bhutan was third in South Asia and 129th overall.
UNDP published its Human Development Report under the name Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World. It ranked countries based on HDI. UNDP stated the data used for the human development indicators were provided by a variety of public international sources and represent the best statistics available for those indicators at the time of the preparation of the report.
In the report, UNDP stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has driven reversals in human development in almost every country, while the war in Ukraine and elsewhere has created more human suffering. It stated that record-breaking temperatures, fires, storms, and floods are further contributing to instability along with increasing fuel costs. It added for the first time ever the global HDI value declined for two years straight in the wake of the pandemic, with many countries experiencing ongoing declines in the HDI in 2021.