When using Angular 2, 4, or 5, you cannot directly use $index. To utilize the index, you need to define it first.
<li *ngFor="let item of items; let i = index">{{item}} - {{i}}</li>
{{i}} represents the index of items
However, in Angular 1.x, you can use the index like this:
<li ng-repeat="let item of items>{{item}} - {{$index}}</li>