Newcomers perceive Canada as a nation with opportunity, a modern culture, and a high standard of living.
However, immigrants might be curious in how Canada stacks up against other popular immigration locations across the globe and what hard data backs up these claims.
One useful tool for answering questions is the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations. The Index provides a single indexed development score for every nation by dissecting several variables.
What is the Human Development Index?
The HDI is a unified index produced by the United Nations (UN) to measure the development of a country. The measure focuses on the idea that the capabilities of people in any given country are the ultimate measure of assessing a nation’s development, “not economic growth alone.”
To this end, the HDI measures the longevity, education, and income of individuals in a country, through the following composite measures:
- Longevity measures: life expectancy at birth, and overall score on the UN’s life expectancy index;
- Knowledge measures: expected years of schooling, mean years of schooling, and overall score on the UN’s education index; and
- Income / Standard of living measures: Gross National Income per capita, and overall score on the UN’s Gross National Income index.
Through an amalgamation of these measures, the UN assigns each country a score between 0 and 1, with 1 denoting the highest possible score of development, and 0 the lowest. The HDI has assigned scores to countries based on these measures since 1990.
According to the index, the following scores denote corresponding levels of development:
| HDI score | Indication of national development |
|---|---|
| ≤0.550 | Low |
| 0.550-0.699 | Medium |
| 0.700-0.799 | High |
| ≥0.800 | Very high |
What is Canada’s HDI ranking?
Canada receives a score of 0.935 on the HDI as of the most current data available (2022), which indicates a very high degree of progress. Canada’s HDI score in 1990 was 0.861, showing a 0.074-point rise in the 30+ years since the data was first released on the HDI.
The breakdown of this score by composite measure is presented in the table below, as of 2022 (the most recent year data was available):
| Composite measure | Canadian statistics |
|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 82.8 years |
| Expected years of schooling | 15.9 years |
| Mean years of schooling | 13.8 years |
| Gross National Income per Capita | $48,444.3 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
In comparison, the world average score on the HDI is 0.739, indicating that Canada places well above the average in terms of being a developed nation.
The highest-ranked country according to the HDI’s most recent reporting is Switzerland, with a score of 0.967, while the lowest-ranked country was Somalia with a score of 0.380.
How does Canada rank against other top immigrant destinations?
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) 2023 international migration outlook, the top five immigration destinations (based on data from 2022) by permanent immigration—excluding Canada—were:
- The United States of America (USA);
- Germany;
- The United Kingdom (UK).;
- Spain; and
- France.
The following will break down the UN HDI and composite scores for the above countries.
Note: While the HDI is a comprehensive measure of human development, there are multiple factors it does not consider (i.e.: cost-of-living, access to medical services, legal rights and freedoms, etc.).
The United States of America
As of the most recent reporting, the United States achieved an HDI score of 0.927, with the following composite scores.
| Composite measure | American statistics |
|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 78.2 years |
| Expected years of schooling | 16.4 years |
| Mean years of schooling | 13.5 years |
| Gross National Income per Capita | $65,564.9 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
Germany
As of the most recent reporting, Germany achieved an HDI score of 0.950, with the following composite scores.
| Composite measure | German statistics |
|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 80.9 years |
| Expected years of schooling | 17.3 years |
| Mean years of schooling | 14.2 years |
| Gross National Income per Capita | $55,340.1 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
The United Kingdom
As of the most recent reporting, the United Kingdom achieved an HDI score of 0.940, with the following composite scores.
| Composite measure | UK statistics |
|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 82.1 years |
| Expected years of schooling | 17.6 years |
| Mean years of schooling | 13.4 years |
| Gross National Income per Capita | $46,623.9 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
Spain
As of the most recent reporting, Spain achieved an HDI score of 0.911 with the following composite scores.
| Composite measure | Spanish statistics |
|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 83.9 years |
| Expected years of schooling | 17.8 years |
| Mean years of schooling | 10.6 years |
| Gross National Income per Capita | $40,043.3(reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
France
As of the most recent reporting, France achieved an HDI score of 0.91, with the following composite scores.
| Composite measure | French statistics |
|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 83.2 years |
| Expected years of schooling | 15.9 years |
| Mean years of schooling | 11.6 years |
| Gross National Income per Capita | $47,378.7(reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
What makes an immigrant successful in Canada?
According to data from Statistics Canada, many recent immigrants may have economic outcomes that are on par with or even better than those of their Canadian-born counterparts.
The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)* variables were evaluated in a research titled “Which immigration selection factors best predict the earnings of economic principal applicants?” to determine how they affected immigrant performance in the short (1-2 years), medium (5-7 years), and long-term (10+ years) periods.
*The Canadian federal immigration system ranks economic immigrants according to their human capital (age, education, and language proficiency) using the CRS. Based on these variables, the algorithm gives each candidate a score that indicates how likely it is that they will successfully settle and assimilate into Canadian society.
Specifically, the CRS factors tracked were:
- Years of pre-landing Canadian work experience (compared to those with no experience);
- Ability in official languages (English or French (Native speakers vs. Less proficient);
- Age—Younger (25-29 years) VS. Older (50-54 years); and
- Education (bachelor’s VS. Secondary school education);
In the short term (1-2 years), the strongest factor impacting immigrant earnings in Canada is pre-landing Canadian work experience (work experience gained before receiving permanent residence (PR) in Canada), with each year of experience leading to an 84% increase in earnings. Language ability also plays a significant role, as immigrants whose mother tongue is neither French nor English, but who speak English earn 29% less than those with a French or English mother tongue. Education is another important factor, with those holding a bachelor’s degree earning 12-24% more than those who did not.
In the medium term (5+ years), pre-landing Canadian work experience remained the strongest predictor of earnings, with each year of experience leading to a 52-59% increase. Language ability continued to impact earnings, with those whose mother tongue is an official language earning 42% more. Age becomes a more important factor, as older immigrants earn 27-35% less than younger ones. Education also has a positive effect, with bachelor’s degree graduates earning 14-21% more.
In the long term (10+ years), pre-landing Canadian work experience continued to influence earnings but to a lesser extent, with each year of experience leading to a 45% increase. Age at landing becomes a critical factor, with younger immigrants earning 44% more than older ones. Language proficiency in an official language also significantly affects earnings, reducing income by 35% for those less proficient. Education has a stronger impact, with a bachelor’s degree resulting in a 23% increase in earnings.