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The Legatum Prosperity Index survey, as shown in the following table, ranks countries on eight different attributes, and then consolidates those attributes into an ‘overall ranking’. The report says that the U.S. has fallen out of the top 10 (to #12) in the ‘most prosperous country ranking’ increasing doubts about the health of its economy and ability of its politicians. Read the balance of the article to see where your country is ranked overall and in each of the 8 different categories. Words: 520
So reports Bloomberg News in edited excerpts from an article* posted at http://business.financialpost.com under the title U.S. slips out of top 10 most prosperous countries, while Canada keeps No. 6 ranking.
Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!), may have edited the article below to some degree for length and clarity – see Editor’s Note at the bottom of the page for details. This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.
The article goes on to say, in part:
The six-year-old Legatum Prosperity Index (developed by The Legatum Institute, a public policy research arm of the Legatum Group, a Dubai-based private investment group founded in 2006 by New Zealand billionaire Christopher Chandler) is a study of wealth and wellbeing in 142 countries. Covering 96% of the world’s population, it is an attempt to broaden measurement of a nation’s economic health beyond indicators such as gross domestic product.
Overall Prosperity Ranking
[As can be seen in the table below]:- Norway and Denmark retained the pole positions they held last year,
- Sweden leapfrogged Australia and New Zealand into third.
- Canada (#6), Finland (#7), the Netherlands (#8), Switzerland (#9) and Ireland rounded out the top 10.
- The Central African Republic was ranked last.
Sub-Index Rankings
As noted above, in its sub-indexes, Legatum named:
- Switzerland the strongest economy & home to the best system of governance.
- Denmark the most entrepreneurial,
- New Zealand as having the best education,
- Luxembourg as having the best health care,
- Iceland as the safest,
- Canadians as enjoy the most personal freedom and
- Norwegians having the greatest social capital.
[U.S. Rankings
Of the 142 countries the United States is ranked:
- only 20th as a world economy;
- just 12th in ‘entrepreneurship and opportunity’. Think of that in the context of the American mantra of ‘we are the best at innovation’;
- 27th in safety and security; and,
- only 14th in personal freedom, an interesting survey finding given the U.S. Constitution’s 1st (freedom of speech) and 2nd (right to carry arms) amendments.
Something to think about both generally, and in the context of the U.S. and world financial markets. Source: Ian R. Campbell (www.StockResearchPortal.com)]
European Rankings
Plagued by the euro-area debt crisis, 24 out of 33 European nations have witnessed a decline in their economic score since 2009, according to Legatum. On the prosperity scale, Greece recorded the biggest drop in 2012, falling 10 places since 2009 to 49th. Spain held on to 23rd place.
The U.K remained 13th, one place ahead of Germany, and Legatum predicted it will overtake the U.S. by 2014 as it scores well for entrepreneurship and governance. Nevertheless, the status of its economy remains a weakness as it slid five places to 26th on that score and job satisfaction is low.
Asian Rankings
Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan all ranked in the top ten for their economies and the top 20 overall. So-called tiger cub economies Vietnam and Indonesia also rose. Indonesia experienced the largest gain in prosperity of any country since 2009, jumping 26 positions to 63rd.
*http://business.financialpost.com/2012/11/05/u-s-slips-out-of-top-10-most-prosperous-countries-while-canada-keeps-no-6-ranking/
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