Five things to know about the new Human Capital Data Portal

Investing in human capital—the knowledge, skills, and health people accumulate over a lifetime— unlocks a nation's wealth and the full potential of individuals. Reliable measurement of human capital development is crucial to this effort. From local to global, human capital data provides key insights into effective approaches, guides efficient resource allocation, and strengthens policymakers’ commitment to investing in people, fostering sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

The newly launched Human Capital Data Portal offers a comprehensive resource for accessing the latest human capital statistics. But this isn’t just another data platform—it’s designed to be interactive, user-friendly, and equipped with features that make human capital data accessible to policymakers and researchers.

Here’s how the new portal can enhance your work and decision-making:

1. Explore interactive visualizations across human capital indicators

Whether comparing health outcomes in different regions or analyzing education data over time, the Human Capital Data Portal offers dynamic visualizations that simplify complex information. With just a few clicks, policymakers and researchers can customize charts, graphs, and maps to fit their specific needs. This interactive approach enables deeper exploration of data, uncovering key insights that might otherwise be hidden in static reports. For instance, users can explore longitudinal trends and zoom in on specific populations, such as by gender or age group, revealing disparities in human capital outcomes.
 

Primary school completion rate across countries of different income levels

2. Access data for every stage of life

From early childhood to old age, human capital develops over a lifetime. The portal includes disaggregated data covering various life stages, such as prenatal health, school enrollment, youth employment, and adult skills. This life-cycle approach ensures that users can pinpoint where investments are most needed to unlock human potential. In the indicators section, users can apply filters based on their life stage of interest (prenatal and early childhood; school-aged children; youth; and adulthood and elderly), as well as the data source, topic, and economy.

3. Compare countries across multiple indicators

The portal's comparison feature allows you to select countries and indicators for side-by-side analyses, helping policymakers spot trends and disparities that need attention. This tool is especially valuable for evidence-based policymaking or making the case for new investments. For example, one can track how countries with similar income levels perform on human capital outcomes or explore correlations between different indicators, such as the relationship between the Human Capital Index (HCI) and informal employment. These insights can inform targeted strategies to close development gaps.

Interactive graph tool: Correlation between HCI and adult informal employment rate

4. Explore the latest insights and knowledge on human capital

The portal goes beyond data by connecting users to the latest reports, blogs, and research on human capital through its Insights section. This feature keeps policymakers and researchers informed with up-to-date findings, stories of impact, and emerging trends from across the world, making it easy to stay on top of the most relevant knowledge. Whether you’re looking for best practices from other countries or the latest research on how climate change impacts human capital, the Insights section offers a curated selection of high-quality content that can be incorporated into your policy recommendations.

You can also download the Human Capital data briefs, including the latest updates on the Human Capital Complementary Indicators (HCCI). While the Human Capital Index provides a longer-term view of human capital outcomes, the HCCI offers more nuanced, timely, detailed insights across life stages, from early childhood to adulthood, highlighting age-specific vulnerabilities and optimal times for investment. For example, the HCCI can identify where early education interventions yield the highest long-term returns or where health investments reduce disparities in human capital accumulation.
 

Human Capital Index (HCI) (scale 0-1), 2020

5. Stay updated with regular data updates

Human capital is a dynamic field, and the portal keeps pace by regularly updating its data from trusted sources like UNESCO, UNICEF, the International Labor Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization and the World Bank. The platform’s ability to incorporate new data and continuously update indicators allows users to track progress over time, compare outcomes across different years, and adjust policies based on real-time trends. This responsiveness is crucial in a world where global challenges like pandemics and climate change can quickly alter the human capital landscape.

The Human Capital Data Portal allows users to download datasets for further analysis. Each dataset comes with clear citation guidelines, so whether you’re using data for research papers, reports, or presentations, you’ll find instructions on how to cite both the data portal and the original data sources in your work.

Driving evidence-based human capital investments

The Human Capital Data Portal goes beyond data access—it’s a catalyst for evidence-based policies and targeted investments in human capital. The new portal illustrates the World Bank Group’s long-term commitment to supporting informed human capital investments locally and globally, building healthier, more resilient, and prosperous societies. Explore the portal today to discover how its rich data and actionable insights can help you promote positive change in your community and country.

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