Canada Named 5th Most Prosperous Nation (2016)
- November 4, 2016
- By Cody Battershill
Canada is the 5th Most Prosperous Nation in the World (2016)
I’ve always believed that Canada is a great place to live, not just because it is my home country, but also due to international rankings such as the Global Prosperity Index that puts us at the top and ahead of some of the world’s most established countries.
Canada held its own in the Global Prosperity Index 2016, placing fifth overall while beating out Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, UK, USA and some other 135 countries across the globe.
Here are the top 25 most prosperous countries in the world in 2016:
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Finland
- Switzerland
- Canada
- Australia
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Denmark
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Luxembourg
- Ireland
- Iceland
- Austria
- Belgium
- United States
- France
- Singapore
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- Malta
- Portugal
Legatum Institute
For a decade, the Legatum Institute - a London-based research organization - has been publishing its Global Prosperity Index that determines just how prosperous nearly 150 world nations are in comparison to one another.
The report answers some basic questions like…
- Why are some nations more prosperous than others?
- How do people flourish?
- How do poorer nations transition from poverty to increasing prosperity?
… by using 104 variables spread across nine “pillars of prosperity”, the Legatum Institute can make a reasonable estimation of a nations overall human progress. These pillars include:
- Business environment
- Education
- Economic quality
- Governance
- Health
- Natural environment
- Personal freedom
- Safety and security
- Social capital
Canada finished 3rd overall in both social capital and business environment categories as well as 2nd overall in personal freedom.
Examples of the variables spread throughout these nine different pillars
- Per-capita gross domestic product
- People working full-time jobs
- People’s personal volunteer hours, charity donations and willingness to help a stranger in need
- Freedom of speech and religion
- National tolerance for immigrants and racial minorities
- Number of secure internet servers
- How rested people feel on a day-to-day basis
I Love Canada
Thank you to the Legatum Institute for recognizing just how wonderful a place Canada is to live and work.
I consider myself extremely lucky to be born in one of the best and most prosperous countries in the world!
See more Canadian International Rankings here.