Ranks of countries by the Good Country Index 1

The Good Country Index measures how much each of the 163 countries on the list contribute to the planet, and to the human race, through their policies and behaviors.

Top 50 overall rank (version 1.5)

2018 top 10 overall rank (version 1.3)

2017 top 163 overall rank (version 1.2)

2016 top 10 overall rank (version 1.1)

2014 top 10 overall rank (version 1.0)

Description

The Good Country Index is a composite statistic of 35 data points mostly generated by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. These data points are combined into a common measure which gives an overall ranking, and a ranking in seven categories: * Science and Technology * Culture * International Peace and Security * World Order * Planet and Climate * Prosperity and Equality * Health and Well-being The concept, and the index itself, were developed by

Simon Anholt Simon Anholt is an independent policy advisor who has worked to help develop and implement strategies for enhanced economic, political and cultural engagement with other countries. He is the founder of the Good Country Index. Anholt has been ...

. The Index was built by Dr. Robert Govers with support from several other organisations. The top three countries in the 2014 list were

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Nine of the top 10 countries in overall rankings are in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, while

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

tops overall rankings in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. The last three countries on the list are

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

Methodology

Testing and method

The Index attempts to measure the global impacts of national policies and behaviors: what the country contributes to the

global commons Global commons is a term typically used to describe international, supranational, and global resource domains in which common-pool resources are found. Global commons include the earth's shared natural resources, such as the high oceans, the at ...

, and what they take away. The Index utilizes 35 data points, five for each of seven categories. These data points are produced by the

and by other international agencies, with a few by NGOs and other organisations. Countries receive scores on each indicator as a fractional rank (0=top rank, 1=lowest) relative to all countries for which data are available. The category rankings are based on mean fractional ranks of the five indicators per category (subject to maximum two missing values per category). The overall rank is based on the average of the category ranks. This yields a common measure which gives an overall ranking, a ranking in each of the seven categories, and a balance-sheet for each country that shows at a glance how much it contributes to the world and how much it takes away.

Categories and indicators

Science, Technology & Knowledge * Number of foreign students studying in the country relative to GDP * Exports of periodicals,

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such ...

s and newspapers relative to GDP * Number of articles published in international journals (2009 latest data) relative to GDP * Number of

Nobel prize winners The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

relative to GDP * Number of International Patent Cooperation Treaty applications relative to GDP Culture * Exports of creative goods ( UNCTAD's Creative Economy Report categorisation) relative to GDP * Exports of creative services (UNCTAD's Creative Economy Report categorisation) relative to GDP *

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

dues in arrears as percentage of contribution (negative indicator) * Number of countries and territories that citizens can enter without a visa *

Freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

(based on mean score for

Reporters without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

and

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wi ...

index as a negative indicator) International Peace and Security * Number of peacekeeping troops sent overseas relative to GDP * Dues in arrears to financial contribution to UN peacekeeping missions as percentage of contribution (negative indicator) * Attributed number of casualties of international organised violence relative to GDP (negative indicator) * Exports of weapons and ammunition relative to GDP (negative indicator) * Global Cyber Security Index score (negative indicator) World Order * Percentage of population that gives to charity as proxy for cosmopolitan attitude * Number of refugees hosted relative to GDP * Number of refugees overseas relative to GDP (negative indicator) * Population growth rate (negative indicator) * Number of treaties signed as proxy for diplomatic action and peaceful conflict resolution Planet and Climate * National Footprint Accounts Biocapacity reserve (2009) * Exports of hazardous waste relative to GDP (only 2008 and 2011 data available, so 2011 data used as negative indicator) * Organic water pollutant (BOD) emissions relative to GDP (2007 latest data as negative indicator) * CO₂ emissions relative to GDP (negative indicator) * Methane + nitrous oxide + other greenhouse gas (HFC, PFC and SF6) emissions relative to GDP (negative indicator) Prosperity and Equality * Trading across borders (open trading performance compared to best practice; i.e. IFC distance to frontier score) * Number of aid workers and volunteers sent overseas relative to GDP *

Fairtrade A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, Asi ...

market size relative to GDP * Foreign Direct Investment outflow relative to GDP * Development cooperation contributions (aid) relative to GDP Health and Wellbeing * Amount of wheat tonnes equivalent food aid shipments relative to GDP * Exports of pharmaceuticals relative to GDP * Voluntary excess contributions to World Health Organisation relative to GDP * Humanitarian aid contributions relative to GDP * International Health Regulations Compliance

Criticism

The Economist's Daily Chart questions the validity of some of its results. It notes that scaling countries on a GDP basis skews it in favor of poorer countries, and that the interpretation of certain parameters is flawed, but also calls the index "a worthwhile pursuit by imagining how countries might compete when they aim to serve others."

Notes and references

External links

Good Country Index Overall rankings

Data sources for Good Country Index
* * * {{Politics country lists International rankings Environmental economics Social statistics indicators