Brazil Enters Very High Human Development Group After Education Gains

Overview

• The PNUD’s Radar IDHM released on May 26, 2026 reports Brazil’s national IDHM reached 0.805 for 2024, the first time the country crosses the 0.800 threshold into the ‘very high’ category.
• Education was the main engine of the rise, with the education subindex climbing from 0.679 in 2012 to 0.798 in 2024 and PNUD linking expanded school enrollment to Bolsa Família’s conditionalities.
• Adjusted for internal inequality, Brazil’s IDHMAD is 0.641 in 2024 which places the country at ‘medium’ development and reveals that national averages hide large within‑country disparities.
• Disaggregated results show whites reached 0.851 (very high) while Blacks reached 0.774 (high), men 0.802 and women 0.798, and all 27 states improved between 2021 and 2024 with the Federal District leading at 0.866.
• The report notes a COVID-19 shock in 2020–21 that pushed the IDHM down to a low in 2021, recovery began in 2022 but longevity and mortality indicators have not fully recovered, and states such as Alagoas, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte posted the largest gains since 2012.