The Municipal Human Development Index (HDI) of Belford Roxo is considered average by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and its value to 0.684. Although it is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which has the 4th highest HDI in Brazil, the value of the city index is below the state average (0.768), and country (0.744). There is still a wide disparity in social indicators of the municipality and other neighboring localities, revealing a history of abandonment, and regional inequality.