Global prosperity levels have increased over the past three years, despite the financial crisis, and political turmoil in West Asia, according to a new report by a London think tank, Legatum.

Legatum, which publishes an annual index of countries across the world, based on 89 indicators, ranging from the state of the economy, to education, social capital and personal freedom, found an increase in overall prosperity levels, led by Central Asia, and South East Asia, with even Western Europe and North America registering small rises over of the period.

The think tank registered increases in most of its measurements globally, particularly levels of entrepreneurship and opportunity, health and personal freedom, with safety and security being the only measure that registered a decline.

As might be expected, the top of the list is dominated by Scandinavian nations, with Norway capturing the top position, as it has since the index was launched in 2009. The US dropped out of the top 10, it said, driven by factors relating to entrepreneurship and opportunity, including the number of US citizens who believed that hard work would get them ahead, and a fall in ICT exports.

India came in at 101, slipping from 78{+t}{+h} position three years ago, dragged down by governance indicators. The country fared particularly poorly on social capital rankings capturing measures of social cohesion and engagement, and community and family networks, coming in 138{+t}{+h} out of 142. The think tank, which also examined social capital between states, noted that levels varied widely, with Kerala scoring on the level of France (40{+t}{+h} in the world) but Punjab down at 142{+n}{+d} position, alongside Togo.

Surprisingly, Western Europe too registered a slight uptick in prosperity, despite the large decline in their economies – which the think tank attributed to improvements in health care and education, despite the onset of austerity measures across the region.

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