The relevance of the article is due to the increased competition in the global market, the need to quickly and effectively ensure the advance development of innovative technologies in Russia, including investment in human capital. The article examines the ratings of the world countries, calculated by different methods and on various criteria: on GDP per capita, on average life expectancy at birth, on quality of life, on quality of life index, happiness index, human development index, etc. Particular attention is paid to Russia's place in the global community when using different indicators. It is concluded that it is appropriate to build a multidimensional indicator that allows comparisons of countries more reasonable. The article is intended for government, academics, students.