Human Development Index IRAN Rank: 88
The Human Development Index - going beyond income
Each year since 1990 the Human Development Report has published the Human Development Index (HDI) which was introduced as an alternative to conventional measures of national development, such as level of income and the rate of economic growth. The HDI represents a push for a broader definition of well-being and provides a composite measure of three basic dimensions of human development: health, education and income. Iran (Islamic Republic of)'s HDI is 0.707, which gives the country a rank of 88 out of 187 countries with comparable data. The HDI of South Asia as a region increased from 0.356 in 1980 to 0.548 today, placing Iran (Islamic Republic of) above the regional average. The HDI trends tell an important story both at the national and regional level and highlight the very large gaps in well-being and life chances that continue to divide our interconnected world
| Year | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | High human development | South Asia | World |
| 2011 | 0.707 | 0.741 | 0.548 | 0.682 |
| 2010 | 0.707 | 0.739 | 0.545 | 0.679 |
| 2009 | 0.703 | 0.734 | 0.538 | 0.676 |
| 2008 | 0.699 | 0.733 | 0.532 | 0.674 |
| 2007 | 0.694 | 0.728 | 0.527 | 0.670 |
| 2006 | 0.684 | 0.721 | 0.518 | 0.664 |
| 2005 | 0.671 | 0.716 | 0.510 | 0.660 |
| 2000 | 0.636 | 0.687 | 0.468 | 0.634 |
| 1995 | 0.596 | 0.662 | 0.444 | 0.613 |
| 1990 | 0.534 | 0.648 | 0.418 | 0.594 |
| 1985 | 0.454 | 0.630 | 0.389 | 0.576 |
| 1980 | 0.437 | 0.614 | 0.356 | 0.558 |
REFERENCE: FAO, 2011