What is Human Capital and how well are nations utilizing it?

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Human capital is the pile of knowledge, personality attributes, and creativity present in a person which could lead to betterment of economy in the long run. Abundant talent prevails in this world, and when it is brought to use, lifestyles can be easier, and nations can develop better. It is the uniqueness and creativity of ideas, that help in innovations. However, many-a-times, potential in a person is not realized due to problems like inequality or the belief of policymakers that investment in highly skilled labor can only bring growth.

World Economic Forum releases the Human Capital Index annually to assess learning and employment outcomes in every country, on a scale which ranges from 0 to 100, with 0 being the worst score and 100 the best. In 2017, the report is released on the principle that all people should be offered equal opportunity to develop their talents. Subsequently, the country’s talents resources are measured, so the governments could pay attention into delivering results from it. The Index ranked countries after assessing the level to which countries have utilized their human capital for profit of the economy and individuals’ themselves.

European nations have grabbed the first three ranks, with Norway being at the top having a score of 77.12. It is followed by Finland and Switzerland with a score of 77.07 and 76.48, respectively. The much well-developed and one of the most powerful economy, United States of America did not lag behind so much as well. The country was ranked fourth in the index with a score of 74.84.

Of the developing countries in BRICS, Russia was the best performer with a score of 72.16. On the other hand, India might be an emerging economy, but when it comes to bringing use of the potential in individuals, the county does not fare well. It performed the worst among BRICS nations and had a score of just 55.29.

At the bottom of the Index were African nations: Senegal, Mauritania and Yemen, with scores of 43.33, 41.19 and 35.48, respectively.

The table provides information on how each country scores on the Human Capital Index.

Rank	Country	Score
1	Norway	77.12
2	Finland	77.07
3	Switzerland	76.48
4	United States of America	74.84
5	Denmark	74.4
6	Germany	74.3
7	New Zealand	74.14
8	Sweden	73.95
9	Slovenia	73.33
10	Austria	73.29
11	Singapore	73.28
12	Estonia	73.13
13	Netherlands	73.07
14	Canada	73.06
15	Belgium	72.46
16	Russia	72.16
17	Japan	72.05
18	Israel	71.75
19	Ireland	71.67
20	Australia	71.56
21	Iceland	71.44
22	Czech Republic	71.41
23	United Kingdom	71.31
24	Ukraine	71.27
25	Lithuania	70.81
26	France	69.94
27	South Korea	69.88
28	Latvia	69.85
29	Kazakhstan	69.78
30	Luxembourg	69.61
31	Poland	69.61
32	Bulgaria	68.49
33	Malaysia	68.29
34	China	67.72
35	Italy	67.23
36	Slovakia	67.14
37	Croatia	66.81
38	Cyprus	66.43
39	Hungary	66.4
40	Thailand	66.15
41	Malta	66.13
42	Romania	66.12
43	Portugal	65.7
44	Spain	65.6
45	United Arab Emirates	65.48
46	Kyrgyzstan	65.14
47	Bahrain	64.98
48	Greece	64.68
49	Armenia	64.46
50	Philippines	64.36
51	Mongolia	64.35
52	Argentina	64.34
53	Chile	64.22
54	Bolivia	64.06
55	Qatar	63.97
56	Panama	63.85
57	Tajikistan	63.79
58	Brunei Darussalam	62.82
59	Trinidad and Tobago	62.54
60	Serbia	62.5
61	Costa Rica	62.38
62	Moldova	62.29
63	Uruguay	62.26
64	Vietnam	62.19
65	Indonesia	62.19
66	Peru	62.17
67	Macedonia	61.82
68	Colombia	61.8
69	Mexico	61.25
70	Sri Lanka	61.19
71	Rwanda	61.06
72	Ghana	61.01
73	Cameroon	60.76
74	Mauritius	60.34
75	Turkey	60.33
76	Ecuador	59.87
77	Brazil	59.73
78	Kenya	59.48
79	Barbados	59.21
80	Zambia	59.08
81	Uganda	58.73
82	Saudi Arabia	58.52
83	Jamaica	58.39
84	Laos	58.36
85	Albania	58.22
86	Jordan	58.15
87	South Africa	58.09
88	Guyana	58.02
89	Myanmar	57.67
90	Paraguay	57.65
91	Botswana	57.56
92	Cambodia	57.28
93	Dominican Republic	57.12
94	Venezuela	56.88
95	El Salvador	56.36
96	Kuwait	56.08
97	Egypt	55.99
98	Nepal	55.92
99	Namibia	55.86
100	Guatemala	55.83
101	Honduras	55.77
102	Burundi	55.45
103	India	55.29
104	Iran	54.97
105	Benin	54.58
106	Tanzania	53.58
107	Gabon	53.37
108	Nicaragua	53.11
109	Malawi	52.32
110	Madagascar	51.96
111	Bangladesh	51.75
112	Algeria	51.51
113	Côte d’Ivoire	51.12
114	Nigeria	51.06
115	Tunisia	50.76
116	Mozambique	50.18
117	Sierra Leone	49.49
118	Morocco	49.47
119	Gambia	48.94
120	Liberia	48.86
121	Guinea	48.01
122	Chad	47.53
123	Swaziland	47.15
124	Lesotho	46.88
125	Pakistan	46.34
126	Mali	46.02
127	Ethiopia	44.44
128	Senegal	43.33
129	Mauritania	41.19
130	Yemen	35.48

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