Objective To compare the incidence and mortality of brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors in countries and territories with different human development index (HDI) in 2022, to make a comparison with the current epidemiological situation in China, and to assess the association between HDI and the incidence and mortality of brain and CNS tumors. Methods The data on brain and CNS tumors from GLOBOCAN 2022 were collected, and HDI data were organized based on the Human development report 2022. Generalized additive model (GAM) was used to analyze the relationships between standardized incidence ratio (SIR), standardized mortality ratio (SMR), mortality-to-incidence ratio (M/I), and HDI. Results The incidence and mortality of brain and CNS tumors increased with age in 2022, with a significant increasing trend in countries and territories with very high HDI. Countries and territories with high and very high HDI had more cases and more deaths, and countries and territories with very high HDI had the highest SIR and SMR. SIR for brain and CNS tumors in China was higher than the global average, while China’s SMR was lower. M/I varied among countries and territories with different HDI, with lower M/I in countries and territories with high and very high HDI. HDI had a significant nonlinear effect on SIR (edf＝1.740, P＜0.000 1) and M/I (edf＝1.809, P＜0.000 1), and a significant linear effect on SMR (edf＝1, P＜0.000 1). As HDI increased, SIR and SMR generally showed an increasing trend, while M/I showed a decreasing trend. Conclusion There are significant global differences in incidence and mortality of brain and CNS tumors in patients with different HDI in 2022; increasing HDI can reduce the risk of brain and CNS tumors and improve treatment outcomes, and prevention and control strategies should be made for different age groups and HDI.