The World’s Best Countries, 2018: Small is beautiful in a turbulent world
December 4, 2018 Leave a comment
As traditional powers such as the United States, France and the United Kingdom struggle through another year of dysfunction, those looking for a better way of doing things would do well to look at some of the world’s smaller countries for inspiration. So suggests this year’s estimation of the world’s best countries.
This estimation is based on four popular indices of national performance: the UN’s Human Development Index, the International Institute for Management Development’s World Competitiveness Scoreboard, Vision of Humanity’s Global Peace Index, and Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. The goal of this exercise is to identify which of the world’s countries could credibly claim to be the world’s best at providing a high standard of living in a safe and peaceful setting, while enjoying the benefits of a robust economy and the trust that others can be counted upon to be fair and honest.
Since each index assigns scores differently, I’ve standardized the scores by comparing each country to the best performer in each given index, with the best-performing country having a score of 100.
If one assumes the best country to be the one with all four scores closest to 100, then this year’s winner is a bit of a surprise: Austria. This small Alpine country of less than nine million people scored consistently very well, if not perfectly, right across the board, with all four scores being greater than eighty. Similarly strong performers included New Zealand, Iceland and Denmark. Canada finished a strong fifth.
COUNTRY | HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX | WORLD COMPETITIVENESS SCOREBOARD | GLOBAL PEACE INDEX | CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX | ALL SCORES EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN… |
Austria | 95.3 | 87.3 | 86 | 84.3 | 84.3 |
New Zealand | 96.2 | 83.9 | 91.9 | 100 | 83.9 |
Iceland | 98.1 | 83.2 | 100 | 86.5 | 83.2 |
Denmark | 97.5 | 96.4 | 81 | 98.9 | 81 |
Canada | 97.2 | 94.3 | 79.9 | 92.1 | 79.9 |
Singapore | 97.8 | 98.6 | 79.3 | 94.4 | 79.3 |
Japan | 95.4 | 81.3 | 78.8 | 82 | 78.8 |
Ireland | 98.4 | 92.1 | 78.7 | 83.1 | 78.7 |
Switzerland | 99.1 | 97.1 | 77.9 | 95.5 | 77.9 |
Australia | 98.5 | 87.1 | 76.4 | 86.5 | 76.4 |
Sweden | 97.9 | 95 | 73 | 94.4 | 73 |
Finland | 96.5 | 88.4 | 72.8 | 95.5 | 72.8 |
Norway | 100 | 95.4 | 72.2 | 95.5 | 72.2 |
Germany | 98.2 | 88.8 | 71.6 | 91 | 71.6 |
Portugal | 88.9 | 76.2 | 83.2 | 70.8 | 70.8 |
If one looks instead at the average score, which favours those countries with the lowest overall deviation from a score of 100 even if there is a shortcoming in one area, then the order changes slightly. By that standard, Denmark can claim to have been the world’s best country in 2018, an honour it wouldn’t be claiming for the first time, but hampered slightly by a slightly weaker Global Peace Index score. New Zealand again claims the number-two spot, followed by… Singapore.
Singapore’s strong performance is an interesting case, in that it can at best be called an illiberal democracy: critics of the government can and do find themselves sued for defamation, and even use of the city-state’s Speakers’ Corner is carefully monitored. Yet it scored very well in human development, economic competitiveness and lack of corruption, and on par with Canada in terms of peace and safety. If you’re in the market for a system of government that runs things with a very firm hand, yet delivers results, Singapore sets the standard.
But don’t give up on liberal democracy just yet: the rest of the list is full of quite liberal places, with Canada finishing just a bit behind Switzerland and Iceland, and just ahead of Norway and Sweden. The Nordics are still very much on-the-ball when it comes to doing a good job of running a country.
COUNTRY | HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX | WORLD COMPETITIVENESS SCOREBOARD | GLOBAL PEACE INDEX | CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX | AVERAGE SCORE |
Denmark | 97.5 | 96.4 | 81 | 98.9 | 93.45 |
New Zealand | 96.2 | 83.9 | 91.9 | 100 | 93 |
Singapore | 97.8 | 98.6 | 79.3 | 94.4 | 92.525 |
Switzerland | 99.1 | 97.1 | 77.9 | 95.5 | 92.4 |
Iceland | 98.1 | 83.2 | 100 | 86.5 | 91.95 |
Canada | 97.2 | 94.3 | 79.9 | 92.1 | 90.875 |
Norway | 100 | 95.4 | 72.2 | 95.5 | 90.775 |
Sweden | 97.9 | 95 | 73 | 94.4 | 90.075 |
Netherlands | 97.7 | 97.5 | 69.6 | 92.1 | 89.225 |
Finland | 96.5 | 88.4 | 72.8 | 95.5 | 88.3 |
Austria | 95.3 | 87.3 | 86 | 84.3 | 88.225 |
Ireland | 98.4 | 92.1 | 78.7 | 83.1 | 88.075 |
Germany | 98.2 | 88.8 | 71.6 | 91 | 87.4 |
Australia | 98.5 | 87.1 | 76.4 | 86.5 | 87.125 |
Japan | 95.4 | 81.3 | 78.8 | 82 | 84.375 |
The year 2018 was a less happy one for traditional great powers. Based on the first measure further above, the United Kingdom finished 29th, France 30th and the United States 37th. The average score method used immediately above delivered happier results, with the U.K. at 16th place, the U.S. 19th, and France 24th. They could all use a little more of whatever it is Austria, Denmark and New Zealand have going for them; as could much of the rest of the world.
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