Norway is a town.
The Human Development Index ( HDI ) is a composite statistic of life expectancy , education , and per capita income indicators , which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development . Norway . From 2001 to 2006 , and then again from 2009 to 2017 , Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world . Although the Kingdom of Norway is not a member state of the European Union ( EU ) , it is closely associated with the Union through its membership in the European Economic Area ( EEA ) , in the context of being a European Free Trade Association ( EFTA ) member .