London research institute Legatum has released its annual list of the most prosperous countries in the world. Countries were compared on 104 indicators, including traditional ones such as GDP and the number of people working full time, and rather unusual ones – the number of secure Internet servers and how tired people are in everyday life. The state of the environment, life safety, personal freedom, education, business development and other comparative characteristics (sub-indices) were also taken into account,
for which the rating was compiled from 149 countries with open data. Over the past seven years, Norway has been in the lead, but in 2016 it lost first place… however, more on this below and gradually – let’s start from the end.
25. Portugal
According to all sub-indices, Portugal should have been in approximately 50th position, but in matters of personal freedom of citizens it became tenth, so it took 25th place in the overall calculation.
24. Malta
The small island in the Mediterranean was in the top twenty on many counts, but came in eighth from bottom when it came to social capital. As a result – 24th place.
23. Hong Kong
Although Hong Kong’s independence is relative, this special autonomous region of China is presented separately in the prosperity ranking (China itself ranks 90th) and is at the top. For example, Hong Kong is fourth in the list of countries with the best business environment.
22. Japan
Although today Japan is economically stagnant, it is still a leading country in many respects, such as third in the world in terms of safety and fourth in quality of healthcare.
21. Spain
Despite the political problems that have slightly worsened the situation in Spain in the last couple of years, it is still thriving. The country is in 15th place on the list, thanks to its good environmental situation and high level of safety.
20. Slovenia
Slovenia is not strong in business and its social capital is not that high, but according to the Legatum index it is one of the most prosperous countries in Europe – it has the highest score for the environment.
19. Singapore
Known primarily as a global trading port and financial center, Singapore is also a good place to live: second in health care and first in safety. Only the low level of personal freedom of citizens prevented Singapore from taking the top spot in the overall ranking.
18. France
Another country with a shaky economy, and it would be left out of the top lines of the rating if not for fourth place in terms of environmental conditions.
17. USA
While Donald Trump promises to make America “great again,” the country moved from 11th place in the ranking to 17th in a year. But even now the United States remains a leader in the development of the business environment.
16. Belgium
Despite the fact that the peace of Belgium has been shaken by terrorist attacks in the past year, and Brussels has become home to terrorists preparing attacks on other European cities, this country remains one of the most prosperous in the world, ranking among the top ten in the field of personal freedom of citizens and access to education.
15. Austria
The European country with luxury ski resorts showed excellent results, entering the top twenty in almost all indicators, and in the top ten in terms of safety.
14. Iceland
Isolated from the world, with a population of just 300 thousand people, Iceland does not seem to be a prosperous country, but it was included in the top five rankings for indicators such as safety, personal freedom and social capital.
13. Ireland
Ireland’s best performance is fifth in personal freedom and seventh in education.
12. Luxembourg
Known as the birthplace of EU head Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg climbed to the top of the rankings on two points at once: personal freedom and the health of the nation. The country ranks second in the world in terms of security.
11. Germany
Germany, the locomotive of the entire Eurozone, stopped at the threshold of dozens of prosperous countries, unable to enter it. Its maximum indicator is fifth place in the financial sector.
10. UK
This year has been good for England, moving from 15th to 10th place compared to last year. The main achievement in the ranking is fifth place in the business sector.
9. Denmark
Scandinavia sets high living standards for the whole world and Denmark, which took ninth place in the ranking, turned out to be the least prosperous in the region. Her highest score is an A for safety.
8. Sweden
Just one place ahead of its neighbor Denmark, Sweden has dropped to eighth this year from fifth in 2015. And this despite the 3rd position in finance and the 5th in management.
7. Netherlands
Ranked second in education and finance, fourth in governance, fifth in health, Holland was not included in the overall top five due to environmental problems.
6. Australia
With a love for a carefree lifestyle and always good weather, it’s no wonder Australia is recognized as a prosperous country. In terms of performance, second place in social capital moved Australia up one spot in the overall ranking compared to last year.
5. Canada
The United States’ northern neighbor has far outperformed it in overall prosperity rankings. The country ranks third in social capital and business and second in personal freedom of citizens.
4. Switzerland
Switzerland rocketed to the top of the rankings thanks to its leadership in education and third place in health care. According to financial indicators, the country ranks fourth.
3. Finland
Finland and Norway are the most prosperous northern countries in the world. The Finns rank first in management and second in environmental performance. On other points everything is also very good.
2. Norway
For seven years, Norway was the most prosperous country on the planet according to the Legatum index, but this year it has dropped one spot. The maximum indicator is third place in the field of management.
1. New Zealand
And the winner is… New Zealand! The official leader of the ranking of prosperous countries ranks first in social capital and finance, and second in business environment and governance. And it’s just nice to live there.
When traveling, pay for purchases with a OneTwoTrip loyalty card, and up to 10% of the order amount on OneTwoTrip, as well as up to 2% of any purchases paid for with the card, will be returned to your account.
Source: uk.businessinsider.com
