Canada as a nation has a reputation among newcomers with a high living standards, progressive culture, work opportunities, etc. Still, newcomers might wonder what concrete data supports these sentiments. So, here’s comparing Canada with other top immigration destinations.
Well, the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) is a helpful resource for finding answers. The Index summarizes multiple factors to deliver a single indexed score of development for every nation.
What Is The Human Development Index?
The HDI is a unified index produced by the United Nations to measure the development of a country. The measure lays emphasis on the idea that the capabilities of individuals in any given country are the ultimate measure of assessing a nation’s development, not just the economic growth alone.
To this end, the HDI measure the longevity, education, as well as income of individuals in the country, through the following composite measures:
- Longevity Measures: Life expectancy at birth as well as overall score on the UN’s life expectancy index.
- Knowledge Measures: Expected years of schooling, mean years of schooling as well as overall score on the UN’s education index.
- Standard Of Living Measures: Gross National Income per capita, along with overall score on the UN’s Gross National Income Index.
Through an amalgamation of these measures, the UN assigns every nation a score between 0 and 1, with 1 denoting the highest possible score of development, and 0 the lowest. The HDI has assigned scores to countries based on these measures since 1990.
According to the index, the below-mentioned scores denote corresponding levels of development:
| HDI Score | Indication Of National Development |
| ≤0.550 | Low |
| 0.550 – 0.699 | Medium |
| 0.700 – 0.799 | High |
| ≥0.800 | Very High |
How Does Canada Rank On The HDI?
Before we start comparing Canada with other top immigration destinations, it is important to know where Canada stands on the HDI.
As of the most recent data available, Canada obtains a score of 0.935 on the HDI, demonstrating a very high degree of development. In 1990, Canada’s HDI score was 0.861, revealing an increase of 0.074 points on the HDI in the last 30+ years since data was first reported.
The summary of this score by composite measure is presented in the table below, as of 2022:
| Composite Measure | Canadian Statistics |
| Life Expectancy At Birth | 82.8 Years |
| Expected Years Of Schooling | 15.9 Years |
| Mean Years Of Schooling | 13.8 Years |
| Gross National Income Per Capita | $48,444.3 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
In comparison, the world average score on the HDI is 0.739, indicating that Canada places well above the average in terms of being a developed nation.
The highest-ranked country according to the HDI’s most recent reporting is Switzerland, with a score of 0.967. On the other hand, the lowest-ranked country was Somalia with a score of 0.380.
How Does Canada Rank Against Other Top Immigrant Destinations?
Comparing Canada with other top immigration destinations is integral to know where Canada stands.
Well, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 2023 international migration outlook, the top five immigration destinations by permanent immigration – excluding Canada were:
- The United States Of America
- Germany
- The United Kingdom
- Spain
- France
The following will break down the UN HDI and composite scores for the above nations.
Note: While the HDI is a comprehensive measure of human development, there are multiple factors it does not consider, i.e., cost of living, access to medical services, legal rights and freedom, etc.
The United States Of America
The first nation in comparing Canada with other top immigration destinations is the United States Of America.
As of the most recent reporting, the United States achieved an HDI score of 0.927, with the following composite scores.
| Composite Measure | American Statistics |
| Life Expectancy At Birth | 78.2 Years |
| Expected Years Of Schooling | 16.4 Years |
| Mean Years Of Schooling | 13.5 Years |
| Gross National Income Per Capita | $65,564.9 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
Germany
As of the most recent reporting, Germany achieved an HDI score of 0.950 with the following composite scores.
| Composite Measure | German Statistics |
| Life Expectancy At Birth | 80.9 Years |
| Expected Years Of Schooling | 17.3 Years |
| Mean Years Of Schooling | 14.2 Years |
| Gross National Income Per Capita | $55,340.1 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
The United Kingdom
As of the most recent reporting, the United Kingdom obtained an HDI score of 0.940, with the following composite scores.
| Composite Measure | UK Statistics |
| Life Expectancy At Birth | 82.1 Years |
| Expected Years Of Schooling | 17.6 Years |
| Mean Years Of Schooling | 13.4 Years |
| Gross National Income Per Capita | $46,623.9 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
Spain
According to the recent reporting, Spain got an HDI score of 0.911, with the following composite scores.
| Composite Measure | Spanish Statistics |
| Life Expectancy At Birth | 83.9 Years |
| Expected Years Of Schooling | 17.8 Years |
| Mean Years Of Schooling | 10.6 Years |
| Gross National Income Per Capita | $40,043.3 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
France
According to the most recent reporting, France obtained an HDI score of 0.91, with the following composite scores.
| Composite Measure | French Statistics |
| Life Expectancy At Birth | 83.2 Years |
| Expected Years Of Schooling | 15.9 Years |
| Mean Years Of Schooling | 11.6 Years |
| Gross National Income Per Capita | $47,378.7 (reported in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars) |
What Determines Success Of Newcomers In Canada?
Statistics Canada data suggests that many recent immigrants/ newcomers can have equivalent economic outcomes to their Canadian-born counterparts.
A report entitled ‘Which Immigration Selection Factors Best Predict The Earnings Of Economic Principal Applicants?’ analyzed factors assessed in the CRS to see how they impacted immigrant success in the short (1-2 years), medium (5+ years), and long-term (10+ years).
The CRS is used by Canada’s federal immigration system to rank economic immigrants based on human capital attributes. The system assigns a score to each candidate based on these factors. As a result, this represents their likelihood to settle and integrate successfully in Canada.
Particularly, the CRS factors tracked were:
- Years of pre-landing Canadian work experience
- Ability in official languages (English or French Native Speakers v/s Less Proficient)
- Age – Younger (25-29 years) v/s Older (50-54 years)
- Education (bachelors v/s Secondary school education)
In the short term (1-2 years), the strongest factor impacting immigrant earnings in Canada is pre-landing Canadian work experience, with each year of experience leading to an 84% increase in earnings. Language ability also plays an important role, as immigrants whose mother tongue is neither French nor English, but who speak English earn 29% less than those with a French or English mother tongue. Education is another significant factor, with those holding a bachelor’s degree earning 12-24% more than those who did not.
In the medium term (5+ years), pre-landing Canadian work experience remained the strongest predictor of earnings, each year of experience leading to a 52-59% increase. Language ability continued to affect earnings, with those whose mother tongue is an official language earning 42% more. Ages become a more significant factor, as older immigrants earn over 27-35% less than younger ones. Education also has a positive effect, with bachelor’s degree graduates earning 14 -21% more.
In the long term (10+ years), pre-landing Canadian work experience continued to influence earnings but to a lesser extent. Age at landing becomes a critical factor, with younger immigrants earning 44% more than older ones. Also, language proficiency in an official language also significantly affects earnings, reducing income by 35% for those less proficient. Education has a stronger impact, with a bachelor’s degree resulting in a 23% increase in earnings.
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