World Prosperity Index 2009

Want prosperity? Head For The Land of The Midnight Sun

Nov 15, 2009 Mary Spierling

The index defines prosperity as a combination of economic growth together with quality of life and measures of happiness.

The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, compiled by the Legatum Institute, an independent think tank, ranked 104 countries which contain 90 percent of the world's population.

Foundations of Prosperity

The foundations of prosperity that define successful nations include:

democratic Institutions - transparent and accountable governing institutions that result in economic growth
economic fundamentals - a sound and evolving economy that provides opportunities for creation of wealth
education - a high-quality and accessible educational system that fosters human development
entrepreneurship and Innovation - an environment friendly to new enterprises and the commercialization of new ideas
governance - an honest and effective government that preserves order and encourages productive citizenship
health - the physical well-being of the population and universal access to healthcare
personal Freedom - the degree to which individuals can choose the course of their lives
security - a safe environment in which people can pursue opportunity
social capital - trustworthiness in relationships and strong communities which include the family structure

The top 10 were all Western nations, with Australia (6th place) and Canada (7th place) both surpassing the United States (9th place) followed by Britain at number 12.

The United States' ranking was affected by a continual poor performance in health (highest infant mortality in industrialized countries) and government. According to the data, a majority of Americans perceive the government as being corrupt and less than 50 percent of the population have faith in the judicial system; and most believe local businesses are corrupt.

Prosperity Index in Asian Nations

In Asia, Japan ranked the highest at number 16, followed by Hong Kong (18th place), Singapore (23rd place) and Taiwan (24th place). Dr. William Inboden, senior vice president of the Legatum Institute, said the lower rankings for Asian nations were largely due to their weak scores for democracy and personal freedoms. He states many Asian nations have good economic fundamentals but democracy and personal freedom measures affect the rankings. Despite its booming economic growth, China came in at 75th due to tight political controls.

Zimbabwe ranked as the world's least prosperous countries, followed by Sudan and Yemen.

Finland was named No. 1 in the rankings. With the exception of Switzerland, ranking No. 2, Nordic countries dominated the top five countries, with Sweden in third place followed by Denmark and Norway. Europe again represents the highest concentration of the most prosperous nations due to high quality of life and economic policies.The index defines prosperity as a combination of economic growth together with quality of life and measures of happiness.

The copyright of the article World Prosperity Index 2009 in International Affairs is owned by Mary Spierling. Permission to republish World Prosperity Index 2009 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Finland ranks No. 1 in prosperity	The Swiss are No. 2 in prosperity wealth	Sweden is 3rd in the world economy index
Legatum ranks Scandinavia in prosperity wealth	U.S. ranks 9th in prosperity