We just published the 2019 Social Progress Index results, which give us unprecedented insight into the reality of the lives of over 7 billion people across 149 countries across the world.
The Social Progress index is the first holistic measure of a country’s social and environmental efficiency that is separate from economic factors and at the same time supports economic gauges like GDP.
This year, the world’s foray into social progress has lasted six years, the first time ever for such a period, enabling us to analyze through a global, regional, and national lens. The index connects the attainment of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals with the actuality that even if it goes as it is now the targets won’t be hit until 2073.
- Worldwide, on average, the situation is getting better. The world average score increased from 61.80 to 64.47 between 2014 and 2019, and there is positive change in eight of twelve dimensions of social progress.
- Despite this overall progress, with Personal Rights being the only one that is the exception, the whole world has rather stagnated than even slightly moving ahead on Personal Safety and Access to Basic Knowledge.
- Norway is the top country in social progress, with a score of 90.95 while two-thirds are lower than Norway, Japan is No, 2 on the list. Norway’s score is 2.38 points more now than before, which is the highest gain of the countries in the Nordics.
- Among 149 classified countries, 137 countries have undergone certain improvements since 2014, of which The Gambia, Nepal, and Sierra Leone are the ones most remarkably progressed.
- There are a few cases that have become the exception to the trend of social progress. Especially, the United States continues to fall back with the US dropping in both absolute measures and comparisons with the developed countries to 26th in social progress.
These are just a portion of the most up-to-date headlines of the 2019 Social Progress Index. The team toils round the clock to come up with the Social Progress Index and thus give an as precise as can possibly be review of the human condition around the globe. This task could not happen if not for the generous financial and non-financial help from very good friends and social progress protagonists such as the likes of you.