How countries are rated by Claudia Sonea

What does the word “prosperity” tell you? According to the dictionary it is a flourishing state, especially financially, but there are other factors to be taken into consideration. When talking about the prosperity of a country, most people would think about wealth, which determines happiness and health. If there are funds and jobs, then the residents of a country would be happy and would have money to invest in health programs. But that it is not always the case, as the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index will show by analyzing and comparing 104 countries based on their overall. If Hong Kong is the first when it comes to e! conomic fundamentals, it is on the 18th place on the scale of the physical wellbeing of the population. Moreover, Hong Kong is occupying the 60th position in the top of “Democratic Institutions”, which means that the government is not transparent in spite of the pretence of being democratic and guarantying the rights and freedoms of its people. As it is, the residents of Hong Kong cannot be thrilled with excitement or very happy. The first 5 countries that managed to get the highest ranking on the Prosperity Index are Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. These countries got a good score on “Economic Fundamentals”, “Entrepreneurship and Innovation”, “Democratic Institutions”, “Education”, “Health”, “Safety and Security”, “Governance”, “Personal Freedom”, and “Social Capital”. It is good then to live in a Nordic country! , especially if you are a woman as the gender equality reaches! 82.2 pe rcent- the highest in the world. However, they don’t seem very happy and the index has no category for happiness for a clear image of the residents’ emotional state. As far as I am concerned, the Index is faulty and not very reliable, considering that financially China is on place 29 and United Arab Emirates on the 38 position. All the countries in the world depend on the oil and gas of countries like Russia and UAE and they consider that as being without any importance? Check for yourself the top and give your opinion, because what you think may change the top made. Don’t go away, there is more…

related story (sgx15743): http://new! s.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091027/lf_nm_life/us_prosperity...

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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