Singapore rises in prosperity rankings as economy tops survey
Reuters file photo
SINGAPORE — The Republic has moved up a notch to rank 17th on a global index ranking nations’ prosperity, putting it in the top 20 out of 142 countries.
But while the index ranked Singapore’s economy number one globally, it ranked Singapore 38th under the personal freedom sub-index, which measures how well a country guarantees individual freedom and encourages social tolerance. And it ranked Singapore 25th in the social capital sub-index, which looks at social cohesion and community and family networks.
The Prosperity Index was released by the United Kingdom-based nonprofit Legatum Institute today (Nov 2). Singapore was ranked 17th globally, putting it third in the Asia-Pacific region and top in the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). The index measures eight sub-indices: Economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, and social capital.
Singapore ranked within the top fifteen for everything except in personal freedom and social capital.
The report considers macroeconomic policies, economic satisfaction and expectations, foundations for growth, and financial sector efficiency in its assessment for the economy sub-index. Commenting on Singapore’s top ranking for economy, the report noted that the Republic has the second highest capital per worker in the world of US$240,750 per worker, and 47 per cent of the country’s manufactured exports were classified “high-tech”.
Norway topped the overall Prosperity Index, ranking among the top ten for all the eight sub-indices. It did not top any of the sub-indices, but came in second after New Zealand in the area of social capital, which is measured by factors such as social support and volunteering rates.
Topping the sub-index for personal freedom was Canada, followed by New Zealand. Factors measured include the tolerance for immigrants, tolerance for minorities, civil liberty and free choice, and satisfaction with freedom of choice.
Other key findings noted by the institute include Indonesia’s ascent on the index, having climbed 21 places over the past seven years, thanks to its vibrant economy, falling start-up costs and improved satisfaction among citizens on living standards.
The institute also noted the Nordic countries’ struggle with unemployment — across all the Nordic countries, employment is only 59.3 per cent, and Sweden, Finland and Denmark have unemployment rates of 7.8 per cent, 9.4 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.
The institute also observed that the world has become an increasingly dangerous place, with dramatic declines in the safety and security sub-index in Africa and the Middle East in the past seven years driven by increased tension, violence and displaced peoples. Of particular concern was the rise of the Islamic State in North Africa and the Middle East, evidenced by falling family strength and social support, growing unemployment and dissatisfaction with the level of freedom in everyday life in Syria and Iraq.
Among ASEAN, Malaysia came in at 44th globally, Vietnam at 55th, Indonesia at 69th, the Philippines at 74th, Laos at 95th, and Cambodia at 112th.
