Human Capital Index Plus measures investment returns for future productivity
Updated
Updated · World Bank · May 5
Human Capital Index Plus measures investment returns for future productivity
3 articles · Updated · World Bank · May 5
It estimates how much human capital a child born today can accumulate from birth to working age under their country's health, education and employment conditions.
The tool is designed to give policymakers a clear, comparable way to link investments in people with later productivity gains.
By making long-term returns more visible, HCI+ aims to counter weak incentives for urgent action on human capital development.
With AI advancing faster than human skills, how can nations avoid a permanent decline in their human capital value?
If a high human capital score boosts economies, why are many developing nations still falling behind?
A new index links people to profit, but will it change how leaders actually invest in their workforce?
How Homes, Neighborhoods, and Workplaces Drive a 51% Drop in Future Labor Earnings
Overview
The World Bank's 2025 report warns that children born today in 86 low- and middle-income countries face a 51% loss in future earnings due to early-established skill gaps, poor care environments, and disadvantaged neighborhoods. These factors, combined with limited job quality and high labor force exclusion—especially among women burdened by unpaid care work—undermine human capital development. Discrimination and weak enforcement of laws worsen these challenges. The decline threatens global economic growth and deepens poverty. However, targeted investments in early childhood support, education quality, affordable childcare, and neighborhood improvements can help reverse this trend and unlock economic potential.