The Social Progress Index, a list of countries which have made the greatest progress in achieving basic human needs, well-being and quality of life, shows that after Finland we can find Canada, Denmark, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain and Iceland.
As regards to the countries of the region, Croatia takes 33rd place, Serbia 47th, Montenegro 55th, Macedonia 57th, Albania 52nd, while Slovenia is the best ranked Balkan country at 20th.
At the very bottom of the list we can find Zambia, together with Vietnam, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Malta, Luxemburg and Oman.
Some of the most economically developed countries are ranked outside the top ten places, with Germany taking 15th place, France 17th and the United States 19th.
All three of these countries had a better rank in 2015.
This research shows that GDP is not the only measure of wealth and well-being of a country, since it includes other criteria such as quality of health care, crime rates, environmental protection, as well as the protection of fundamental human rights. Due to this, some of the most developed countries from this list didn’t manage to accomplish remarkable results.
(Source: radiosarajevo.ba)