Croatia ranks 51st of 169 countries assessed in the 2010 Human Development Report.
"This ranking places Croatia in the 'high human development' category and reflects steady progress since its standing was first calculated in 1995, but still leaves the country behind many of its neighbours, including Slovenia (ranked 29), Hungary (36), Montenegro (49), and Romania (50). Although Croatia's performance is strong on two of the indicators used to calculate the rankings (gross national income/GNI per head and life expectancy at birth), its position overall is dragged down by weaknesses in education, including a mean of just nine years of schooling for adults over 25," the UNDP reported.
The Human Development Index (HDI) incorporates measures of health and education alongside income and individual economic prosperity of each country.
"In the global HDI ranking for 2010, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand rank at the very top of the list; at the bottom are Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe," reads the report.
There have been difficulties in obtaining data from some of the UN members which is why the report covers 169 countries, although the UN has 192 members.