British study puts Finland at top of Prosperity Index

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The British Financial Times newspaper reports that Finland has been ranked as the world’s most prosperous country - not just in terms of money, but also in terms of democracy and the quality of administration.
      The findings are in the Prosperity Index of the London-based think tank Legatum.
     
Last year Finland ranked third. Now Finland is on top, followed by Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. At the bottom of the index are Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Yemen.
      The United States is in ninth place, ahead of Britain, Germany, and France. Four out of five of the top 20 countries are in Europe or North America.
     
In addition to monetary wealth, Legatum judged the various countries on the basis of health, freedom, security, and the quality of political governance.
      Security and governance are the main factors speaking in Finland’s favour. In both of them, Finland ranked second. In education, Finland was in third place. In the economy, Finland ranks tenth, with Hong Kong coming in first.
     
A commission convened by French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared in September that well-being cannot be measured on the basis of a country’s GDP alone.
      Finland stands currently at #12 in the UN's Human Development Index, which uses measures of life expectancy, educational attainment, and GDP per capita at purchasing power parity.
      Norway topped that list, which covers the period up to 2007.


Links:
  FT article: Finland tops global prosperity index
  Human Development Index (Wikipedia)
  Legatum Institute - Prosperity Index

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