Sweden is the “goodest” nation among the 163 countries assessed by the Good Country Index. The index examines how each country impacts on the planet and contributes to the “common good of humanity”.

“The Good Country Index doesn’t measure what countries do at home. This isn’t because we think these things are unimportant, of course, but because there are plenty of surveys that already measure them,” the inventor of the survey Simon Anholt explains.

The ranking compares data from the UN Human Development Index and combines it with data that measure each country’s contribution to science and technology, calculating for example the number of foreign students studying in the country as well as the number of articles published in international journals; with data related to the peacekeeping troops sent overseas for UN missions as well as arms exports; and, finally, data measuring the contribution to the protection of the environment and sustainable development, to the protection of forests and reduction of CO2 emissions.

 

The best and worst countries in the Good Country Index

Sweden is the first in the ranking, followed by Denmark and Netherlands. In the lower end of the rankings there are Libya (163rd), Equatorial Guinea (162nd) and Central African Republic (161st).

The country that gave the best contribution to tackling climate change and reducing CO2 emissions is Iceland.

“What the Index does aim to do is to start a global discussion about how countries can balance their duty to their own citizens with their responsibility to the wider world, because this is essential for the future of humanity and the health of our planet”, Anholt states. “We hope that looking at these results will encourage you to take part in that discussion”.

Tradotto da Francesca Clemente