The Prosperity Institute publishes a ranking of 167 countries according to the Legatum Prosperity Index which is based on twelve equally weighted “pillars” of prosperity. Among the twelve are safety and security, personal freedom, governance, infrastructure, economic quality, health, education, and the environment. These pillars incorporate 300 underlying indicators. The following graphic provides the data for the top twenty spots in the 2023 report.
Note that the top four spots are held by Scandinavian countries with other Western European countries capturing the next eight positions. The U.S. ranks nineteenth, an improvement from the 2022 ranking of 22nd. A review of the twelve pillars indicates that the U.S. enjoys strong positioning on enterprise conditions, infrastructure and market access, investment environment, economic quality, and social capital. Unfortunately, we rank poorly on two categories: safety/security and health. One can quibble about some of the individual rankings, but the overall conclusion is consistent with quality-of-life surveys conducted by other organizations.
The Prosperity Index is not intended to be critical but is instead meant to serve as a guide or pathway that leaders can employ to move their countries toward a flourishing society that enjoys greater prosperity.