Money does not translate into happiness. Most of us know this to be true for individuals. The works of an organisation called Social Progress Imperative , have proved it to be true for countries too. The organisation aims at driving societal change by focusing on measuring growth in a more holistic way. Instead of ranking countries based on their GDP, they rank countries based on the Social Progress Index .
The study was designed by a team led by a Harvard Business School professor, Michael Green and takes into account 99% of the world’s population. Here are the top twenty countries on the list :
20. Spain
With a score of 81.17, Spain is ranked number twenty on the list. The country needs to make considerable progress in the field of ‘Ecosystem Sustainability’ and ‘Personal Rights’ in comparison to countries with similar GDP.
19. Slovenia
A score of 81.62 put Slovenia at number nineteen on the list. A low number of ‘Globally Ranked Universities’ in comparison to countries with similar GDP, and a low score in the category of ‘Health and Wellness’ need improvement.
18. Portugal
A score of 81.91 put Portugal at number eighteen on this list. It needs to improve in the fields of ‘Ecosystem Sustainability’ and ‘Access to advanced Education’ in comparison to countries with similar GDP.
17. Belgium
With a score of 82.83, Belgium is ranked at number seventeen on the list. In comparison to countries with similar GDP, it needs to improve considerably in the field of ‘Economic Sustainability’.
16. USA
A score of 82.85 put USA at number sixteen on the list. It has a really low score of 51.63 in the field of ‘Ecosystem Sustainability’ and 68.66 in the field of ‘Health and Wellness’.
15. Japan
With a score of 83.15, the country is put at number fifteen on the list. The country has to go a long way in the field of ‘Personal Rights’ as it has a low tolerance towards homosexuals and immigrants.
14. Germany
A score of 84.04 put the country at number fourteen on the list. The country needs to improve in the field of ‘Religious Tolerance’ and ‘Personal Rights’.
13. Austria
A SPI of 84.45 put Austria at number thirteen on the list. The country has performed excellently in the field of ‘Basic Human Needs’. The field of ‘Opportunity’ requires more work, especially ‘Access to Higher Education’.
12. Ireland
With a score of 84.66, Ireland is ranked number twelve on the list. In the field of ‘Ecosystem Sustainability’, the country scored 40.15, which leaves a lot of scope for improvement.
11. UK
A score of 84.68 put UK at number eleven on the list. Though the country is exceptional in terms of ‘Nutritional and Medical Care’, there is considerable scope for improvement in the area of ‘Health and Wellness’.
10. Australia
With a score of 86.42, Australia was ranked number ten on the list. It is no surprise that the country needs to improve in the area of ‘Tolerance of Immigrants’ but there is considerable scope for improvement in the field of education too.
9. Netherlands
Scoring 86.50 on the SPI, the country has been ranked number nine on the list. It needs to improve in the category of ‘health and Wellness’ as well as ‘Tolerance and Inclusion’ in comparison to countries with similar GDP.
8. Denmark
With a score of 86.63, Denmark was ranked number eight on the list. The country needs to improve in the department of ‘Health and Wellness’.
7. Finland
A score of 86.75 put Finland at number seven on the list. The country needs to improve in the area of ‘Personal Safety’ owing to higher rate of homicides in comparison to countries with similar GDP.
6. Canada
With a score of 86.89, Canada is ranked number 6 on the list. Given news reports, it is no surprise that it needs to improve in the category of ‘Tolerance and Inclusion’. The country also needs to implement better measures to tackle a high number of traffic deaths.
5. New Zealand
A score of 87.08 helped put New Zealand at number 5 on the list. The country was ranked first the previous year. It needs to improve in the fields of ‘Child Mortality’ and ‘Outside Air Pollution’.
4. Iceland
The country has an SPI score of 87.62 and performed exceptionally well in the category of ‘Basic Human Needs’. Though the country scores well in the field of ‘Personal Freedom and Choice’, the country needs to improve in the sub-category of ‘Freedom of Religion’.
3. Switzerland
Switzerland ranks third on the list with a SPI of 87.97. The country needs to make considerable progress in the area of health and wellness as more number of citizens suffer from obesity related problems (which is understandable given the delicious chocolates I guess?)
2. Sweden
A score of 88.06 helped Sweden rank second on the list. It needs to provide better access to advanced education. It also has a higher suicide rate in comparison to countries with similar GDP.
1. Norway
With a SPI of 88.36, the country ranks first on the list. Though it needs considerable improvement in the Ecosystem Sustainability category, it is strong with respect to availability of opportunities.
India is ranked 101 on the list, with a score of 53.06. As a country, we need to make considerable progress in all categories, especially in that of ‘Tolerance and Inclusion’.
