--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/the-human-development-index-in-canada-ranking-the-provinces-and-territories-internationally-2000-2015-an-update/" title: "The Human Development Index in Canada: Ranking the Provinces and Territories Internationally, 2000-2015: An Update" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T12:41:46+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T12:41:46+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Alberta" - "Canada" - "education" - "HDI" - "Human Development Index" - "income" - "international ranking" - "life expectancy" - "Nunavut" - "provinces" - "territories" country_focus: - "Multi-country" province_region: - "Multi-province" research_theme: - "Economic Well-Being" - "Regional Economic Development" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Human Development Index in Canada: Ranking the Provinces and Territories Internationally, 2000-2015: An Update Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/the-human-development-index-in-canada-ranking-the-provinces-and-territories-internationally-2000-2015-an-update/ # The Human Development Index in Canada: Ranking the Provinces and Territories Internationally, 2000-2015: An Update [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2017-06-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Uguccioni, James, Andrew Sharpe, and Richard Beard. 2017. “The Human Development Index in Canada: Ranking the Provinces and Territories Internationally, 2000-2015: An Update.” CSLS Research Report 2017-06. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/the-human-development-index-in-canada-ranking-the-provinces-and-territories-internationally-2000-2015-an-update/ ## Authors: - James Uguccioni Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Richard Beard Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2017-06 August 2017 40 pages ## Related research [Closing the First Nations Education Gap in Canada: Assessing Progress and Estimating the Economic Benefits — An Update Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2023 | Report 2023-01 | 101 pages](https://csls.ca/research/closing-the-first-nations-education-gap-in-canada-assessing-progress-and-estimating-the-economic-benefits-an-update-2023-01/) [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? Andrew Sharpe December 1999 | Report 1999-03 | 59 pages](https://csls.ca/research/apprenticeship-in-canadaa-training-system-under-siege/) [A Survey of Indicators of Economic and Social Well-being Andrew Sharpe July 1999 | Report 1999-cprn | 72 pages](https://csls.ca/research/a-survey-of-indicators-of-economic-and-social-well-being/) [Creating a More Efficient Labour Market Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) June 2001 | Report 2001-02 | 147 pages](https://csls.ca/research/creating-a-more-efficient-labour-market/) [Productivity Trends in the Construction Sector: A Case of Lagging Technical Progress Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) November 2001 | Report 2001-03 | 177 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-in-the-construction-sector-a-case-of-lagging-technical-progress/) [The Impact of the National Child Benefit Supplement on the Low Income Status of Canadian Families with Children: The SPSD/M Results Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) June 2002 | Report 2002-01 | 59 pages](https://csls.ca/research/the-impact-of-the-national-child-benefit-supplement-on-the-low-income-status-of-canadian-families-with-children-the-spsd-m-results/) [Productivity Trends in Natural Resources Industries in Canada Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2003 | Report 2003-01a | 69 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-in-natural-resources-industries-in-canada/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn We develop internationally comparable estimates of the Human Development Index (HDI) for the Canadian provinces and territories over the 2000-2015 period. The HDI is a composite index composed of three dimensions (life expectancy, education and income) measured by four indicators (life expectancy at birth, average years of education, expected years of schooling and GNI per capita). We first replicate the Canadian estimates from the most recent Human Development Report (HDR) using data from Statistics Canada. Next, we generate estimates for the provinces and territories following the same methodology and using the same Canadian data sources. We make these estimates internationally comparable by scaling each province or territory’s estimate to Canada’s in the most recent HDR. This allows the provinces and territories to be ranked in the most recent HDR international rankings for all four component variables as well as the overall HDI. The highest HDI score in 2015 among the provinces and territories belongs to both Alberta and Ontario, which would be tied for fifth in the international rankings. The lowest ranking region is Nunavut, which would be in 45th place. Overall, our report highlights the diverse human development experiences of Canadians that are concealed by Canada’s overall HDI. Nous élaborons des estimations comparables à l’échelle internationale de l’Indice de développement humain (IDH) pour les provinces et territoires canadiens au cours de la période 2000-2015. L’IDH est un indice composite formé de trois dimensions (espérance de vie, éducation et revenu) mesurées par quatre indicateurs (espérance de vie à la naissance, nombre moyen d’années de scolarité, nombre attendu d’années de scolarité et RNB par habitant). Nous reproduisons d’abord les estimations canadiennes tirées du plus récent Rapport sur le développement humain (RDH) à l’aide de données de Statistique Canada. Nous produisons ensuite des estimations pour les provinces et territoires selon la même méthodologie et à partir des mêmes sources de données canadiennes. Nous rendons ces estimations comparables à l’échelle internationale en calibrant l’estimation de chaque province ou territoire sur celle du Canada dans le RDH le plus récent. Cela permet de classer les provinces et territoires dans les classements internationaux les plus récents du RDH, tant pour les quatre variables composantes que pour l’IDH global. Le score d’IDH le plus élevé en 2015 parmi les provinces et territoires revient à égalité à l’Alberta et à l’Ontario, qui se classeraient au cinquième rang à l’échelle internationale. La région la moins bien classée est le Nunavut, qui se situerait au 45e rang. Dans l’ensemble, notre rapport met en évidence la diversité des expériences de développement humain au Canada, masquée par l’IDH global du pays. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2017-06-1.pdf)