What is the state of human living conditions? Which countries' citizens are prospering, and which people are struggling? Where are people making progress, and where are they sliding back? The answers to such questions often come from an examination of their economies. However, each country's GDP can only show so much. What is more important is how prosperity translates into well-being. On May 24th, a data set released by the non-profit organization Social Progress Initiative aims to showcase this. It ranks 170 countries based on their performance in providing services to their citizens, using various indicators. Take a look at their comparisons in the interactive chart below.
This organization is not the only one measuring development through methods other than monetary counts. For example, the United Nations' Human Development Index combines per capita GDP with measures of health and education. However, the Social Progress Index (SPI) completely bypasses GDP. Instead, it tracks 52 indicators and divides them into three categories, giving equal weight to each category: basic human needs (such as food and water), foundations of well-being (such as education and healthcare), and "opportunity" (including personal rights and freedoms).
The results still show a correlation between wealth and happiness: the wealthiest countries are often the ones where citizens have the best quality of life. In the poorest countries, conditions are the worst. But the data also shows that some countries that have made significant progress in areas such as meeting basic needs have disappointed their citizens in other areas, particularly in protecting and expanding their freedoms.
The 2022 Social Progress Index results show Norway in the top position with a score of 90.7. South Sudan ranks last. Overall, wealthy European countries rank highest, while sub-Saharan African countries rank lowest.
In another analysis, the SPI shows the changes in scores from 1990 to 2020 (the latest data is omitted due to methodological differences). After rapid progress in the 1980s and 1990s, improvements in human well-being seem to have slowed down. Some regions, such as Latin America, have seen progress stagnate. Meanwhile, the United States is regressing. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic may have further weakened global progress.
The region that has experienced the greatest welfare growth is East Asia and the Pacific. Overall, countries here have seen an average increase of 18 points in their SPI scores from 1990 to 2020. This is mainly due to the rise of the middle class in China, which is reflected in indicators of health, education, and basic needs provision.
South Asia has also made significant progress. For example, India's SPI score increased by 16 points over three decades. But among the 170 countries, the greatest progress was made by the small country of Bhutan, located between India and China, with a score increase of 30 points, as it greatly increased the supply of basic human needs. This seems to confirm the viewpoint of this country, which invented the concept of "Gross National Happiness" and whose government is more inclined to prioritize it over GDP. Since 2013, despite its dictator Nicolas Maduro strengthening his power, Venezuela's economy has shrunk by 75%, and its decline in SPI ranking from 1990 to 2020 is the largest among all countries.
The SPI rankings, paired with GDP data, show that economic growth is important but not the sole determinant of social progress (see chart). China's per capita GDP grew 11 times from 1990 to 2010; during the same period, its SPI score increased by 45%. India achieved a similar leap in scores from a lower base, with one-third of its economic growth coming from China.
The United States is another country where economic success is accompanied by deterioration in other areas. Despite having the wealthiest citizens among the G7 (a club of wealthy democratic countries), its SPI score is 87.6, the lowest in the organization. Since 2016, despite the United States' economic growth outpacing other wealthy countries, its SPI score has steadily declined. This is mainly due to poor scores in the "opportunity" category, which includes indicators of discrimination and access to higher education. It is concerning that the United States' performance reflects a trend: global progress in individual rights is stagnating. It seems that money is not the root of all good things.