World Economic Forum released Human Capital Report 2017

The World Economic Forum (WEF) on 13 September 2017 released the Global Human Capital Report 2017.

The Global Human Capital Report 2017 proposes a new benchmark for leaders to build the workforces of the future.

The Index provides a means of measuring the quantifiable elements of the world’s talent potential so that greater attention can be focused on delivering it.

The Global Human Capital Index aims to provide a holistic assessment of a country’s human capital—both current and expected—across its population.

The Global Human Capital Index 2017 ranks 130 countries on how well they are developing and deploying their human capital potential.

Key findings of the report

• On an average, the world has developed only 62 per cent of its human capital as measured by this Index.

• The top ten of the 2017 Human Capital Index is headed by smaller European countries: Norway (1), Finland (2), Switzerland (3).

• The leaders of the Index are generally economies with a longstanding commitment to their people’s educational attainment and that have deployed a broad share of their workforce in skill-intensive occupations across a broad range of sectors.

• Only one country, Israel (18), from the Middle East and North Africa makes it into the top 20.

• From South Asia, Sri Lanka (70) is the top performer, while Nepal (98), India (103), Bangladesh (111) and Pakistan (125) lag behind. With the exception of Sri Lanka, the rest have yet to reach the 60 per cent threshold with regard to developing their human capital.

Top ten Countries in the Human Capital Index are:

Norway (1)
Finland (2)
Switzerland (3)
United States (4)
Denmark (5)
Germany (6)
New Zeland (7)
Sweden (8)
Slovenia (9)
Austria (10)

Bottom ten Countries in the Human Capital Index are:

Guinea (121)
Chad (122)
Swaziland (123)
Lesotho (124)
Pakistan (125)
Mali (126)
Ethiopia (127)
Senegal (128)
Mauritania (129)
Yemen (130)

India’s position in the Global Human Capital Index

• India occupied the 103rd position among the 130 countries surveyed in the Index. In 2015, India's position was 105th among the 130 countries surveyed in the Index.

• In the South Asia region, it is placed behind Sri Lanka (70) and Nepal (98).

• India ranks at the top of the bottom quartile of the Index. Although the country’s current educational attainment rate has improved markedly over past generations, its youth literacy rate is still only 89 per cent.

• India also ranks poorly on labour force participation, due in part to one of the world’s largest employment gender gaps.

About the report

The Global Human Capital Index ranks 130 countries on how well they are developing their human capital on a scale from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) across four thematic dimensions – capacity, deployment, development and know-how – and five distinct age groups to capture the full demographic profile of a country:

• 0 to 14 years: The youngest members of the population for whom education is assessed among the most critical factors
• 15 to 24 years: Youth for whom factors such as higher education and skills use in the workplace are assessed
• 25 to 54 years: The bulk of the labour force, for whom continued learning and employment quality are assessed
• 55 to 64 years: The most senior members of most workforces for whom attainment and continued engagement are assessed
• 65 and Over: The oldest members of the population, for whom both continued opportunity and health are assessed