This is a first in Switzerland. Highlighted Swissinfo.ch : Out of 191 countries, the country tops the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) latest ranking. The news site notes that Switzerland was third in 2020, behind Norway and Ireland.

Created thirty-two years ago, the Human Development Index (HDI) is used by the international organization to measure a country’s health, education and standard of living. It is based mainly on three criteria: life expectancy at birth, GDP per capita and educational attainment of adolescents aged 17 and above.

“In 2021, Switzerland recorded a positive return on the life expectancy indicator. This has not been the case in all countries: some have seen their residents’ life expectancy decline in the past year. UNDP Chief Statistician Yanjun Zhang comments in an interview Swissinfo.ch.

Despite the health crisis, life expectancy in Switzerland reached 84 years in 2021 and 83.1 years in 2020. In terms of per capita income, it reached $93,457 (€93,550.92) in 2021, “Strong increase compared to 2020”, That was $86,850 (€86,937.28).

With the exception of the top three in the ranking – Switzerland, Norway and Iceland – virtually every country has been hit by a health crisis, economic downturn, drought or flood, the UN report shows, with a general decline in the Human Development Index – a situation not seen since the index was created in 1990. South America, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia South are particularly affected.

Globally, “Human development has fallen to 2016 levels, reversing much of the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals” The report says. Globally, life expectancy fell from 72.8 years in 2019 to 71.4 years in 2021.