The Human Capital Index 2020 Update: Human Capital in the Time of COVID-19

This report presents an update to the Human Capital Index (HCI), using the most recent health and education data available as of 2020. It documents new evidence on trends over time in the HCI, examples of success, and new analytical work on utilization of human capital, as well as a primer on the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and its potential impact on human capital. COVID-19 is taking a tremendous toll on lives and economies. Disruptions in supply chains and the lockdowns that have been enacted to stave off contagion are putting hardship on families' incomes. Coupled with disruptions in basic health services and school closures, these repercussions of COVID shocks are likely to have a significant impact on the human capital accumulation process in the short and in the long run. HCI 2020 data have been collected before the onset of COVID-19 and can act as a baseline to track the effects of COVID-19 on health and education outcomes, as policymakers consider how best to protect human capital from the shock of the pandemic.