http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...best-countries
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7109576.html
Finland is the most socially progressive country in the world while the war torn Central African Republic is the least progressive, a new study has found.
The Scandinavian country scored highest of the 133 countries ranked in an index by the Social Progress Initiative on the extent to which the country fulfilled the social and environmental needs of its citizens.
Finland was followed by Canada, Denmark, Australia, Switzerland with the United Kingdom coming ninth and the United States 19th.
The Central African Republic, which is suffering from deeply engrained ethnic and political rivalries, was joined at the bottom of the list by Afghanistan, Chad, Angola and Niger.
The executive director of the Social Progress Initiative, Michael Green said: "Our data shows that economic growth is generally a good thing.The index, published by the Social Progress Imperative, a U.S.-based nonprofit, uses 53 indicators to measure such things as health care, housing, policing, personal rights and tolerance in 133 countries. Canada ranks first or ties for first on 13 of those indicators.I hope we can our cell phone record and take the number 1 spot next year.“Canada is unequivocally one of the world’s most socially progressive countries and one of the best countries in the world to live,” said Michael Green, the index’s director.
“Second is a very impressive performance,’ Green said in an interview. “It does in a way dispel this myth that it’s only the Nordic countries that can do well on social progress.”
We might even have knocked off those pesky Finns for first overall but for a 25th place ranking on access to information and communications, a score depressed by our seriously low level of cell phone subscriptions (we rank 102nd globally).
Where did your country rank and are you happy with how socially progressive your country is?