Norway is follwed by its neighbours Denmark and Findland in second and third position. The UK is ranked 13th. Legatum, a London-based think tank, said the success of the Nordic countries in the ranking was partly due to the recent ‘economic liberalisation’ of the region where authorities have been ‘freeing up their labour markets and slashing government spending’.
The survey covers around 90 per cent of the world’s population and takes into account factors that contribute to overall prosperity; including education standards, health, safety, security, personal freedom and democracy.
Unlike other studies that rank countries by actual levels of wealth, life satisfaction or development, the Legatum Prosperity Index produces rankings based upon the very foundations of prosperity – those factors that help drive economic growth and produce happy citizens over the long term.
The Prosperity Index Top 15
1 Norway
2 Denmark
3 Finland
4 Australia
5 New Zealand
6 Sweden
7 Canada
8 Switzerland
9 Netherlands
10 United States
11 Ireland
12 Iceland
13 United Kingdom
14 Austria
15 Germany