NZ ranked most socially advanced country
Print Edition
NEW Zealand came first in a global index published yesterday that ranks countries by social and environmental performance rather than economic output, in a drive to make social progress a priority for politicians and businesses.
The Social Progress Index (SPI) rates 132 countries on more than 50 indicators, including health, sanitation, shelter, personal safety, access to information, sustainability, tolerance and inclusion and access to education.
The SPI asks whether a country can satisfy its people’s basic needs and has the infrastructure and capacity to allow its citizens to improve the quality of their lives and reach their full potential.
“The index shows that economic growth does not automatically lead to social progress,” Michael Green, executive director of the Social Progress Imperative, a non-profit organization that publishes the index, said.
“If we are to tackle problems such as poverty and inequality, it shows that measuring economic growth alone is not enough.”
New Zealand received high scores for personal rights and freedom, Internet access and school enrolment. It was followed in the Top 10 by Switzerland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Denmark and Australia.
Some of the world’s largest economies did not fare so well, with Germany in 12th place, the United Kingdom in 13th, Japan 14th, the United States 16th and France 20th. All of them except Germany scored poorly on environmental sustainability.
The United States also ranked poorly on health and wellness — despite being a top spender on healthcare — and on access to basic knowledge, with just 92 percent of children in school.
France lagged Slovenia (18th) and Estonia (19th) and had low scores on sustainability and opportunity, especially tolerance and inclusion.
Italy was in 29th place, hurt by poor access to advanced education, sustainability and tolerance and inclusion.
The low rankings of China (90th) and India (102nd) showed that their rapid economic growth is not yet being converted into better lives for their citizens, said Green.
Chad ranked last, below Central African Republic, Burundi, Guinea, Sudan, Angola, Niger, Yemen, Pakistan and Nigeria.
“GDP doesn’t necessarily tell you what to do whereas the SPI does give indications where you need to focus attention to make progress,” Steve Almond, global chairman of Deloitte, which supports the SPI financially, said.
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