Singapore has emerged as the top among the 157 countries and territories in the inaugural World Bank Human Capital Index (HCI), which measures the human capital that a child born today can expect to attain by the age of 18.

World Bank Human Capital Index (HCI) defines human capital as the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives. (Photo: theguardian.com)

The index defines human capital as the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives.

According to the report released on 11 October by the international financial institution at the World Bank-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Bali, Indonesia, Singapore’s HCI is 0.88. The top ten countries and territories include the Republic of Korea, Japan, Hong Kong (China), Finland, Ireland, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Canada.

The HCI comprises three components: Survival of children to school age, the quantity and quality of education, and health (adult survival rates, healthy growth among children under the age of five).

According to the World Bank, the HCI "reflects the productivity as a future worker of a child born today, compared with what it could be if he or she had full health and complete, high-quality education", which is measured on a scale of zero to one — one is the best possible score.

(Source: VNA)