Human Development Report 2019

Gaps in human development stand in the way of the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These gaps reach well beyond money, since wealth and income are only part of the picture, and a single summary measure focused on one dimension cannot capture them. Their effects will also shape the lives of people who may still be alive in the 22nd century.

This 2019 edition looks past incomes, past averages, and past the present moment. It asks which forms of inequality really matter and what generates them. It treats the most damaging inequalities less as isolated problems than as signs of deeper weaknesses in how a society and its economy are organized.

The report then turns to remedies, examining which policies can address those underlying drivers. Its emphasis is on approaches that let a nation grow its economy, improve human development, and reduce inequality at the same time.