<P> The designations "developed" and "developing" are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process . </P> <P> The UN HDI is a statistical measure that gauges a country's level of human development . While there is a strong correlation between having a high HDI score and a prosperous economy, the UN points out that the HDI accounts for more than income or productivity . Unlike GDP per capita or per capita income, the HDI takes into account how income is turned "into education and health opportunities and therefore into higher levels of human development ." </P> <P> Since 1990, Norway (2001--2006, 2009--2013), Japan (1990--1991 and 1993), Canada (1992 and 1994--2000) and Iceland (2007--2008) have had the highest HDI score . The top 47 countries have scores ranging from 0.793 in Barbados to 0.955 in Norway . </P> <P> Many countries listed by IMF or CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009), possess an HDI over 0.788 (as of 2010). Many countries possessing an HDI of 0.788 and over (as of 2010) are also listed by IMF or CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009). Thus, many "advanced economies" (as of 2009) are characterized by an HDI score of 0.9 or higher (as of 2007). Since April 2016, the IMF classifies Macau as an advanced economy . </P>

The most economically developed country in the world