LAGOS — The South-East has emerged as a dominant force in Nigeria’s human development landscape, with four of its five states—Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra and Enugu—featuring prominently among the country’s top-performing states across the 2023 Human Development Index (HDI) rankings.
The data, published by Statisense and sourced from the Global Data Lab, measures human development across three major dimensions: health, education and standard of living (income).
While Lagos recorded the highest overall HDI score of 0.735, Ebonyi State followed closely in second place with 0.720, ahead of Imo at 0.697, Abuja FCT at 0.692, Anambra at 0.687 and Enugu at 0.681.
The strong showing by the South-East means that four states from the region occupied positions among Nigeria’s six highest-ranked states overall.
South-East shines in education
The region’s strongest performance was recorded in the education dimension, where South-East states occupied four of the top eight positions.
Ebonyi led the entire country with an education index of 0.783, followed by Imo at 0.772. Anambra ranked sixth with 0.690, while Enugu placed seventh with 0.681. Abia also featured in the top 12, recording 0.678.
The figures indicate that the South-East’s performance is not limited to one state, but reflects a broader regional presence in the education component of human development.
Strong performance in health
The South-East also performed strongly in the health dimension.
Ebonyi ranked second nationally with a score of 0.712, while Enugu came third with 0.699. Anambra ranked fifth at 0.658, and Imo sixth at 0.646. Abia also appeared among the top 12 with 0.588.
This gives the region five states among the leading performers in the health rankings.
Income and standard of living
The region maintained a strong presence in the standard-of-living dimension, which is linked to income.
Anambra recorded 0.715, placing it among the leading states, while Imo scored 0.680, Ebonyi 0.670, Enugu 0.664 and Abia 0.642.
Although the income ranking also featured Lagos, Abuja FCT, Edo and Delta prominently, the concentration of South-East states in the upper tier highlights the region’s broad performance across multiple aspects of human development.
A broader Southern dominance
Another striking feature of the 2023 ranking is the geographical concentration of the top 12 states.
All the states listed in the overall top 12 are located in Southern Nigeria, alongside the Federal Capital Territory. No state from the North-East, North-West or South-West—apart from Lagos and the South-West states appearing in individual rankings—matches the overall concentration seen among the South-East states.
The data therefore presents a picture of the South-East as one of Nigeria’s strongest regions in terms of combined human development outcomes, particularly when health and education are considered alongside living standards.
Ebonyi’s remarkable rise
Ebonyi’s second-place overall ranking is perhaps the most notable development in the data. The state recorded an overall HDI of 0.720, just behind Lagos, while simultaneously achieving the country’s highest education index among the listed states.
Its 0.783 education score was higher than Lagos’ 0.758, Imo’s 0.772, Edo’s 0.706 and Abuja FCT’s 0.700.
The figures suggest that Ebonyi’s overall human development performance is being driven significantly by its strong education outcomes, complemented by a health index of 0.712 and a standard-of-living score of 0.670.
Overall, the 2023 HDI figures underscore the South-East’s significant presence in Nigeria’s human development rankings. With Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Abia all appearing in the national top tier, the region demonstrates a particularly strong performance in education and health, while also maintaining a competitive position in living standards.
Source: Global Data Lab, 2023; Statisense.
