According to the United Nations Human Development Index for 2015 Brunei is the best Muslim country to live in while Niger is the worst.
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a measure of basic human developments within 188 countries, released by the UN in its annual Human Development Report.
It uses three categories of human development (categorised as a long and healthy lifestyle, access to knowledge and decent standard of living) to assess the long-term progress of nations.
Norway came top of the list and the higher rankings were generally dominated by European, Oceanian and North American countries. Many Muslim nations appeared at the lower end of the list.
Brunei was placed 31st on the list and was classified as having a “Very High Human Development” rating.
Located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with the GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country.
It has developed wealth from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields. and according to the International Monetary Fund, Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity.
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The IMF estimated, in 2011, that Brunei was one of two countries with a public debt at 0% of the national GDP. And Forbes ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum and natural gas fields.
The ratings
Other Muslim countries on the HDI list which had a “Very High” rating were dominated by energy-rich Gulf countries:
- Qatar (32nd place)
- Saudi Arabia (39)
- UAE (41)
- Bahrain (45)
- Kuwait (48)
Muslim countries which had a “High” rating were:
- Oman (52nd place)
- Kazakhstan (56)
- Malaysia (62)
- Lebanon (67)
- Iran (69)
- Turkey (72)
- Azerbaijan (78)
- Jordan (80)
- Algeria (83)
- Bosnia (85)
- Libya (94)
- Tunisia (96)
- Maldives (104)
Muslim countries which had a “Medium” rating were:
- Egypt (108th place)
- Turkmenistan (109)
- Indonesia (110)
- Palestine (113)
- Uzbekistan (114)
- Kyrgyzstan (120)
- Iraq (121)
- Morocco (126)
- Tajikistan (129)
- Syria (134)
- Bangladesh (142)
And Muslim countries which had a “Low” rating were:
- Pakistan (147)
- Mauritania (156)
- Comoros (159)
- Yemen (160)
- Sudan (167)
- Afghanistan (171)
- Mali (179)
- Chad (185)
- Niger (188)
Niger the worst country to live in…
Meanwhile, not only was Niger the lowest ranked Muslim country in the index, it was the lowest ranked country full stop.
The African nation is landlocked and named after the Niger River. It is the largest country in West Africa with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara Desert.
Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore.
Niger faces serious challenges to development due to its landlocked position, desert terrain, high fertility rates, poor education and poverty, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.
