The Legatum Institute, a think-tank based in London, has recently revealed the findings of its yearly Global Prosperity Index. This report shows the healthiest, richest, and most crime-free countries in the world through criterias in the following categories: Economy, Entrepreneurship & Opportunity, Governance, Education, Health, Safety & Security, Personal Freedom, and Social Capital. In summary, here are some countries which ranked highly:
The country that topped the overall survey is Norway. The country ranked No. 2 for Social Capital, No. 3 for Personal Freedom, No. 4 for Health, No. 4 for Economy, No. 5 for Education, No. 5 for Entrepreneurship, No. 8 for Governance and No. 8 for Safety & Security. This means it is very ideal to live in this Scandinavian country, reports Travel + Leisure.
Indonesia is becoming richer faster than any other country. In the last seven years, it has jumped 21 spots on the Prosperity Index due to its movement in the Economy and Entrepreneurship & Opportunity sub-indexes. The cost of start ups have decreased from 26 percent of the gross national income per capita, to 21.1 percent. This means a better atmosphere start a new venture in the country compared to the past. The number of people happy with living standards has also jumped from 63 percent to 71 percent, which may mean things are going well.
Canada is the "freest" country in the world. The country ranked No. 1 in the Personal Freedom sub-index. 92 percent of citizens agree it's a great place for foreigners, making it the country most tolerant of immigrants . The country was also ranked the fifth most-tolerant of its ethnic minorities.
The United States is getting more dangerous because of increasing crime and violence. The country was never on top for the list of crime-free countries; however, from being No. 31, it dropped to 33rd on the Safety & Security sub-index. Much of this violence is attributed to be state-sponsored. The U.S. has the same level of political violence as that of Saudi Arabia, according to Amnesty International.
According to Business Insider, the think tank group ranked the top 5 countries as: 1) Norway 2) Switzerland 3) Denmark 4) New Zealand and 5) Sweden. You will notice that most of these are Scandinavian countries. The U.S. ranked 11th overall. The report studied 142 countries.
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