Social Progress Index: The ten most socially advanced countries in the world 2015
There is increasing understanding that economic measures alone do not comprehensively capture social progress. The limits of economic success as a proxy for wellbeing have been pointed out and laid bare by global events as well as numerous thought leaders. GDP has failed to capture the state of health and well-being within a 21st-century society. Moreover it has also skewed global political and socio-economic objectives and priorities toward the single-minded pursuit of economic growth. Economic development is beneficial and often necessary, but not sufficient, for social progress. In the 21st century the need is obvious to measure social progress directly in order to fully assess a society’s success in improving the overall wellbeing of its citizens…
The Social Progress Index (SPI) measures a comprehensive array of components of social and environmental performance, aggregating them into an overall framework – and is regarded as a better way of measuring countries performances that the Growth Domestic Product (GDP) measure.
The index, which covers about 99% of the world’s population, was created collaboratively by Professor Michael E. Porter at the Harvard Business School, Professor Scott Stern at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and the Social Progress Imperative, a nonprofit group, and ranks these social and environmental measures that underline well-being and opportunity.
“The Social Progress Index shows that countries with similar levels of GDP can have very different levels of social progress,” said Michael Green, executive director of the Social Progress Imperative.
One example: Costa Rica and Thailand rank 59th and 58th in the world in GDP, respectively. However, Thailand ranks 57th in the world on the SPI whereas Costa Rica ranks 29th due in large part to significantly higher ratings in personal safety, personal rights, and tolerance and inclusion.
#10 Australia
GDP ranking: 12th
Australia is tied with several other nations for the highest quality Water and Sanitation in the world — no wonder people love to surf there. Couple that with high rankings in Nutrition and Basic Medical Care (7th) and Health and Wellness (5th) and it is pretty clean living down under.
Australia could stand to improve in other areas, as it currently ranks 29th in Access to Basic Education and 64th in Ecosystem Sustainability.
On the plus side, Australia’s access to opportunity ranks third in the world, and it has a phenomenal Personal Rights record rivaled only by the UK and New Zealand.
#9 Netherlands
GDP ranking: 7th
The Netherlands may have dropped five spots in the rankings this year, but the lowland country is still a good place to find a home: the country ranks third in the world in providing Shelter and is tied for first in Water and Sanitation.
Like many other developed nations, Netherlands lags behind in Ecosystem Sustainability (25th) but more than makes up for it with Access to Basic Knowledge (8th), Access to Information and Communications (2nd), and Personal Freedom and Choice (5th).
The Netherlands does not rank outside the top 25 in any major category.
#8 Denmark
2014 SPI ranking: #9
GDP ranking: 13th
Denmark is the most advanced country in the world in terms of providing its people with Basic Human Needs including clean water (tied 1st), Personal Safety (5th), and Shelter (1st).
The Danes also enjoy a high quality of life, as the country ranks sixth in Access to Basic Knowledge and fourth in Information and Communication Systems as well as Personal Freedom and Choice.
It isn’t all perfect though — Denmark ranks only 26th in the world when it comes to the Health and Wellness of its people.
#7 Finland
GDP ranking: 17th
The Fins rank third in the world in Providing Basic Human Needs, seventh in providing Opportunity, and eighth in providing the Foundations for the Wellbeing of its people.
Finland is a world leader in offering Nutrition and Basic Medical Care as well as the Freedom of Choice. It is also second in the world in providing Shelter.
As always, there is room for improvement, particularly when it comes to Ecosystem Sustainability (43rd), Health and Wellness (18th), and Water and Sanitation (18th).
#6 Canada
2014 SPI ranking: #7
GDP ranking: 14th
If you want to move up in the world, move to Canada. Our neighbor to the north ranks first in the world in providing Opportunity to its people, ninth in Personal Freedom and Choice, and third in both access to Advanced Education and Tolerance and Inclusion.
Canada also breaks into the top ten in Personal Safety (8th) and Shelter (7th).
When you account for the Foundations of Wellbeing, however, Canada loses some of its global stature: the country ranks only 18th in Access to Basic Knowledge and 25th in Access to Information and Communication.
#5 New Zealand
2014 SPI ranking: #1
GDP ranking: 22nd
Last year’s most socially progressive nation may have dropped four spots, but it’s not as bad as you think.
New Zealand is tied for first in the world in Water and Sanitation and Personal Rights and is right behind Canada in offering Opportunity for its people (2nd). New Zealand also ranks third in the world for Access to Basic Knowledge and fifth in Tolerance and Inclusion.
In terms of overall well-being, the island nation has some work to do: New Zealand ranks only 28th in Nutrition and Basic Medical Care and 34th in Ecosystem Sustainability.
#4 Iceland
2014 SPI ranking: #3
GDP ranking: 15th
Iceland ranks first in Water and Sanitation, Personal Safety, and Tolerance and Inclusion, and second in Nutrition and Basic Medical Care and Health and Wellness. It ranks third in Access to Information and Communications.
It is also worth noting that Iceland ranks 13th in Ecosystem Sustainability, which is higher than any other nation on this list thus far.
Iceland does rank 27th in Access to Advanced Education, which is its only ranking of all major categories outside of the top 15.
#3 Switzerland
2014 SPI ranking: #2
GDP ranking: 4th
The Swiss do many things well, but when it comes to Ecosystem Sustainability they are the envy of the international community.
They are also strong in Personal Safety (3rd), Providing Shelter (5th), and offering the Freedom of Personal Choice (3rd). Their Achilles’ heel? The Swiss rank 48th in the world in Access to Basic Education.
Overall, they rank second worldwide in Meeting Basic Human Needs and in providing the Foundations of Wellbeing.
#2 Sweden
2014 SPI rank: #6
GDP ranking: 6th
It does not get much better than Sweden. The Baltic nation ranks outside the top 10 in only two categories: Shelter (16th) and Personal Rights (11th).
The Swedes are leaders in Water and Sanitation (tied 1st), Nutrition and Basic Medical Care (3rd), Personal Safety (2nd), Health and Wellness (4th), Personal Freedom and Choice (6th), and Tolerance and Inclusion (7th).
#1 Norway
2014 SPI rank: #5
GDP ranking: 2nd
Norway is the most socially progressive country in the world.
In particular, Norwegians have the strongest Foundation of Wellbeing of any country, ranking first in Access to Communications and Information, second in Ecosystem Sustainability, and third in Health and Wellness.
Norway also enjoys top-notch Water and Sanitation (tied 1st), Personal Safety (3rd), and Personal Freedom and Choice (2nd).
Norway can still improve, however: its worst ranking is in its Access to Advanced Education, where it sits at 16th. It also ranks 14th in Shelter and 11th in Personal Rights.
For further reading: World Economic Forum