Which are the Best Countries in Asia?

http://www.humantruth.info/asia.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2013

#asia #human_development #indonesia #Myanmar #Thailand #Theravada_Buddhism

Social & Moral Development Index₁_,₂
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁_,₂
1	Taiwan	28.6
2	Japan	39.9
3	S. Korea	44.0
4	Singapore	54.7
5	Cyprus	55.9
6	Israel	69.9
7	Mongolia	71.2
8	Malaysia	75.3
9	Armenia	76.0
10	Georgia	76.0
	Asia Avg	87.1
	World Avg	86.1
q=49.

Asia as a whole covers a huge range of countries, from full democracies to hardened dictatorships, and from highly developed technological countries, to nations of ill-educated and semi-literate clanspeople. Of this mix, which countries are a shining example to the others?

There are 61 locations that fall within this category. By adding up all the known populations that fall within these locations, and summing their physical land areas, we can calculate population densities. Some islands and territories can end up being counted twice depending on how they are classified and divided up politically, but, mostly such errors involve only small populations. So, some data on this collection of countries in total:

Population: 4.7b
Land Area: 47 307 312km² (23% of Earth's land)
Independent States: 48
Other Territories: 13
Compare to other regions of the world

1. Summary Data

#economics #human_development #population #wealth

Pos.		Population (2018) Population₃	Social & Moral Lower is better Avg Rank₁_,₂	Gross National Income (2021) Higher is better PPP $₄	UN HDI (2021) Higher is better Value₄	Land Area (2011) km²₅	People Per km² Lower is better
1	China	1.4b	77.5	$17 504	0.768	9 327 490	153
2	India	1.4b	87.1	$6 590	0.633	2 973 190	455
3	Indonesia	267.7m	93.2	$11 466	0.705	1 811 570	148
4	Pakistan	212.2m	114.0	$4 624	0.544	770 880	275
5	Bangladesh	161.4m	98.9	$5 472	0.661	130 170	1 240
6	Russia	145.7m	82.3	$27 166	0.822	16 376 870	9
7	Japan	127.2m	39.9	$42 274	0.925	364 500	349
8	Philippines	106.7m	80.8	$8 920	0.699	298 170	358
9	Vietnam	95.5m	80.3	$7 867	0.703	310 070	308
10	Turkey	82.3m	78.9	$31 033	0.838	769 630	107
11	Iran	81.8m	98.9	$13 001	0.774	1 628 550	50
12	Thailand	69.4m	77.2	$17 030	0.800	510 890	136
13	Myanmar (Burma)	53.7m	112.8	$3 851	0.585	653 290	82
14	S. Korea	51.2m	44.0	$44 501	0.925	97 100	527
15	Iraq	38.4m	123.6	$9 977	0.686	434 320	88
16	Afghanistan	37.2m	129.8	$1 824	0.478	652 230	57
17	Saudi Arabia	33.7m	91.4	$46 112	0.875	2 149 690	16
18	Uzbekistan	32.5m	84.5	$7 917	0.727	425 400	76
19	Malaysia	31.5m	75.3	$26 658	0.803	328 550	96
20	Yemen	28.5m	124.3	$1 314	0.455	527 970	54
21	Nepal	28.1m	90.9	$3 877	0.602	143 350	196
22	N. Korea	25.5m	118.9			120 410	212
23	Sri Lanka	21.2m	78.8	$12 578	0.782	62 710	339
24	Kazakhstan	18.3m	85.3	$23 943	0.811	2 699 700	7
25	Syria	16.9m	120.1	$4 192	0.577	183 630	92
26	Cambodia	16.2m	108.1	$4 079	0.593	176 520	92
27	Jordan	10.0m	82.4	$9 924	0.720	88 780	112
28	Azerbaijan	9.9m	89.9	$14 257	0.745	82 658	120
29	UAE	9.6m	79.8	$62 574	0.911	83 600	115
30	Tajikistan	9.1m	90.8	$4 548	0.685	139 960	65
31	Israel	8.4m	69.9	$41 524	0.919	21 640	387
32	Hong Kong	7.4m		$62 607	0.952	1 042	7 075
33	Laos	7.1m	107.7	$7 700	0.607	230 800	31
34	Lebanon	6.9m	91.8	$9 526	0.706	10 230	671
35	Kyrgyzstan	6.3m	82.6	$4 566	0.692	191 800	33
36	Turkmenistan	5.9m	100.2	$13 021	0.745	469 930	12
37	Singapore	5.8m	54.7	$90 919	0.939	700	8 225
38	Palestine	4.9m		$6 583	0.715
39	Oman	4.8m	92.7	$27 054	0.816	309 500	16
40	Kuwait	4.1m	85.3	$52 920	0.831	17 820	232
41	Georgia	4.0m	76.0	$14 664	0.802	69 490	58
42	Mongolia	3.2m	71.2	$10 588	0.739	1 553 560	2
43	Armenia	3.0m	76.0	$13 158	0.759	28 480	104
44	Qatar	2.8m	83.2	$87 134	0.855	11 610	240
45	Bahrain	1.6m	91.5	$39 497	0.875	760	2 065
46	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	1.3m	102.2	$4 461	0.607	14 870	85
47	Cyprus	1.2m	55.9	$38 188	0.896	9 240	129
48	Bhutan	0.8m	80.5	$9 438	0.666	38 394	20
49	Maldives	0.5m	77.6	$15 448	0.747	300	1 719
50	Brunei	0.4m	102.9	$64 490	0.829	5 270	81
	Asia Avg	93.6m	87.1	$22 215	0.75	946 146	99
	World Avg	39.0m	86.1	$20 136	0.72	620 450	63
q=50.

Not showing due to lack of data: Abkhazia.

This page only shows places where the database has enough data to be able to come to reasonable conclusions about each place. The main focus is on nation states, but, some distinct external territories may be listed if the database has enough information about them. Averages are calculated from as many valid data points as possible, meaning, that some territories and locations that are not listed above may still be used to calculate some of the average values. Some calculations only use Independent State data - hover the cursor over values to see hints.

Links:

2. Social and Moral Development

#education #equality #gender_equality #health #human_development #human_rights #modernity #morals #politics #prejudice #technology #the_internet #tolerance

Here are each country's overall scores across the categories that make up the Social and Moral Development Index. This is followed by lists of how each country scores in each individual data set.

Pos.		Social & Moral Lower is better Avg Rank₁_,₂	Modernity and Learning (2020) Lower is better Avg Rank₆	Health (2020) Lower is better Avg Rank₇_,₈	Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2020) Lower is better Avg Rank₉_,₆
1	Taiwan	28.6	10.0		28.2
2	Japan	39.9	21.9	51.0	42.1
3	S. Korea	44.0	24.0	51.3	45.7
4	Singapore	54.7	27.9	42.6	87.6
5	Cyprus	55.9	54.0	78.6	46.7
6	Israel	69.9	32.2	82.1	83.5
7	Mongolia	71.2	90.0	90.6	60.5
8	Malaysia	75.3	50.2	62.8	127.3
9	Armenia	76.0	70.0	78.4	71.6
10	Georgia	76.0	65.1	95.6	64.3
11	Thailand	77.2	72.9	65.3	93.5
12	China	77.5	61.9	60.4	92.0
13	Maldives	77.6	99.8	41.0	110.7
14	Sri Lanka	78.8	79.6	52.9	95.0
15	Turkey	78.9	50.1	84.5	82.6
16	UAE	79.8	56.0	75.8	119.8
17	Vietnam	80.3	67.1	85.4	92.8
18	Bhutan	80.5	112.3	55.1	114.4
19	Philippines	80.8	81.8	112.9	78.4
20	Russia	82.3	40.6	95.5	83.2
21	Jordan	82.4	81.1	84.8	102.2
22	Kyrgyzstan	82.6	71.8	91.0	79.6
23	Qatar	83.2	75.5	70.6	119.3
24	Uzbekistan	84.5	61.7	68.4	111.3
25	Kazakhstan	85.3	63.3	98.1	97.9
26	Kuwait	85.3	77.6	67.1	106.7
27	India	87.1	73.8	79.6	96.9
28	Azerbaijan	89.9	70.1	100.0	87.1
29	Tajikistan	90.8	88.3	83.1	88.0
30	Nepal	90.9	110.8	80.3	90.1
31	Saudi Arabia	91.4	60.4	69.3	117.6
32	Bahrain	91.5	75.6	77.3	112.9
33	Lebanon	91.8	85.7	95.4	98.8
34	Oman	92.7	88.9	62.9	121.5
35	Indonesia	93.2	92.3	95.8	111.2
36	Iran	98.9	71.7	75.5	133.8
37	Bangladesh	98.9	112.9	66.8	113.2
38	Turkmenistan	100.2	105.3	83.1	122.6
39	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	102.2	129.0	105.6	98.6
40	Brunei	102.9	91.6	62.6	147.1
41	Laos	107.7	115.2	115.9	108.3
42	Cambodia	108.1	144.6	93.3	102.5
43	Myanmar (Burma)	112.8	127.0	79.1	128.7
44	Pakistan	114.0	97.9	88.5	141.5
45	N. Korea	118.9		65.0	146.8
46	Syria	120.1	123.5	101.3	133.1
47	Iraq	123.6	121.8	130.9	124.5
48	Yemen	124.3	134.4	112.0	123.6
49	Afghanistan	129.8	136.7	103.8	140.8
	Asia Avg	87.1	79.0	80.1	99.8
	World Avg	86.1	83.2	93.5	87.7
q=49.

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

For more, see:

"What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

3. Demographics and Migration

#asia #birth_control #china #demographics #emigration #health #immigration #india #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population

Population:

Pos.		Population (2018) Population₃	Life Expectancy (2021) Higher is better Years₄	Fertility Rate (2013) 2.0 is best₁₀	Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016) Lower is better Per 100₁₁
1	Afghanistan	37.2m	62.0	6.03	05.0
2	Armenia	3.0m	72.0	1.74	28.7
3	Azerbaijan	9.9m	69.4	2.16	18.7
4	Bahrain	1.6m	78.8	2.46	08.7
5	Bangladesh	161.4m	72.4	2.16	10.6
6	Bhutan	0.8m	71.8	2.27	10.8
7	Brunei	0.4m	74.6	1.99	16.2
8	Cambodia	16.2m	69.6	2.45	10.4
9	China	1.4b	78.2	1.57	25.3
10	Cyprus	1.2m	81.2	1.46	26.9
11	Georgia	4.0m	71.7	1.53	29.7
12	India	1.4b	67.2	2.55	12.5
13	Indonesia	267.7m	67.6	2.07	12.4
14	Iran	81.8m	73.9	1.60	13.4
15	Iraq	38.4m	70.4	4.57	06.0
16	Israel	8.4m	82.3	2.91	22.9
17	Japan	127.2m	84.8	1.40	53.1
18	Jordan	10.0m	74.3	2.93	08.0
19	Kazakhstan	18.3m	69.4	2.52	15.6
20	N. Korea	25.5m	73.3	2.00	17.8
21	S. Korea	51.2m	83.7	1.38	37.6
22	Kuwait	4.1m	78.7	2.27	06.8
23	Kyrgyzstan	6.3m	70.0	2.64	12.1
24	Laos	7.1m	68.1	2.58	08.1
25	Lebanon	6.9m	75.0	1.77	21.1
26	Malaysia	31.5m	74.9	2.58	14.5
27	Maldives	0.5m	79.9	1.67	11.0
28	Mongolia	3.2m	71.0	2.48	11.8
29	Myanmar (Burma)	53.7m	65.7	1.95	12.5
30	Nepal	28.1m	68.4	2.60	10.8
31	Oman	4.8m	72.5	2.17	07.8
32	Pakistan	212.2m	66.1	3.25	08.6
33	Philippines	106.7m	69.3	3.06	10.3
34	Qatar	2.8m	79.3	2.20	05.1
35	Russia	145.7m	69.4	1.52	29.5
36	Saudi Arabia	33.7m	76.9	2.67	09.5
37	Singapore	5.8m	82.8	1.35	36.5
38	Sri Lanka	21.2m	76.4	2.26	23.7
39	Syria	16.9m	72.1	2.81	09.0
40	Tajikistan	9.1m	71.6	3.19	09.1
41	Thailand	69.4m	78.7	1.54	29.2
42	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	1.3m	67.7	5.99	08.2
43	Turkey	82.3m	76.0	2.04	18.0
44	Turkmenistan	5.9m	69.3	2.33	11.0
45	UAE	9.6m	78.7	1.70	07.7
46	Uzbekistan	32.5m	70.9	2.29	11.9
47	Vietnam	95.5m	73.6	1.77	18.3
48	Yemen	28.5m	63.8	4.98	05.7
49	Hong Kong	7.4m	85.5	1.12	43.7
50	Palestine	4.9m	73.5	4.31	06.5
	Asia Avg	93.6m	73.48	2.46	16.2
	World Avg	39.0m	71.28	2.81	18.3
q=50. No data: 11₁₂

Migration:

Some of the smaller countries of Asia have very high immigration rates. The countries in Asia with the highest percent of immigrants in their populations are UAE (88.4%), Kuwait (75.5%) and Qatar (65.2%), although the average for Asia is 14%. Several other countries approach an immigration rate of 50%. When it comes to emigration the highest rates are Palestine (68.4%), Armenia (28.2%) and Georgia (25.1%). The average continental emigration rate is 8%. The two massive countries of China and India (both with over a billion inhabitants) see less than half a percent of their people come or go.

For full commentary and data, see:

Which Country in Asia Has the Most Immigrants Or Emigrants?

4. National Culture

#charity #corruption #happiness #morals #politics

The region of south-east Asia hosts some of the kindest people in the world. Myanmar and Thailand often top the World Giving Index₁₃, which the Charities Aid Foundation attributes to the teachings and values of Theravada Buddhism₁₃. Likewise, in Indonesia, giving is strongly encouraged by the Islamic doctrine of zakat, causing that country to give to charity at three times the global average rate.

Pos.		World Giving Index (2013-2021) Lower is better₁₄	Corruption (2022) Higher is better Points₁₅	Happiness (2018) Higher is better₁₆	Creativity and Culture (2017) Lower is better Rank₁₇	Open Trading, Aid and Development (2017) Lower is better Rank₁₇
1	Afghanistan	83.5	24.0	3.6	115	140
2	Armenia	125.0	46.0	4.3	103	48
3	Azerbaijan	112.3	23.0	5.2	139	86
4	Bahrain	11.7	44.0	6.1	105	157
5	Bangladesh	88.9	25.0	4.5	130	132
6	Bhutan	17.5	68.0	5.1
7	Brunei				79	159
8	Cambodia	109.4	24.0	4.4	89	138
9	China	131.4	45.0	5.2	111	113
10	Cyprus	39.1	52.0	5.8	44	38
11	Georgia	107.4	56.0	4.3	109	11
12	India	82.6	40.0	4.2	57	149
13	Indonesia	9.0	34.0	5.1	88	133
14	Iran	29.0	25.0	4.7	157	148
15	Iraq	44.0	23.0	4.5	156	153
16	Israel	49.4	63.0	7.2	63	99
17	Japan	109.8	73.0	5.9	45	47
18	Jordan	94.1	47.0	5.2	91	24
19	Kazakhstan	85.7	36.0	5.8	131	131
20	N. Korea		17.0
21	S. Korea	71.8	63.0	5.9	34	65
22	Kuwait	26.8	42.0	6.1	110	83
23	Kyrgyzstan	54.9	27.0	5.1	76	60
24	Laos	83.3	31.0	4.6	145	112
25	Lebanon	82.6	24.0	5.2	66	31
26	Malaysia	27.8	47.0	6.3	41	19
27	Maldives		40.0
28	Mongolia	34.6	33.0	5.1	96	33
29	Myanmar (Burma)	2.7	23.0	4.3
30	Nepal	49.1	34.0	4.9
31	Oman		44.0		126	75
32	Pakistan	83.0	27.0	5.5	150	123
33	Philippines	49.6	33.0	5.5	58	12
34	Qatar	9.0	58.0	6.4	114	61
35	Russia	115.0	28.0	5.8	101	116
36	Saudi Arabia	48.6	51.0	6.4	136	85
37	Singapore	32.6	83.0	6.3	29	18
38	Sri Lanka	20.3	36.0	4.5	141	52
39	Syria	43.7	13.0	3.5	152	147
40	Tajikistan	50.7	24.0	5.4
41	Thailand	28.9	36.0	6.1	54	109
42	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)		42.0		133	29
43	Turkey	116.3	36.0	5.5	75	40
44	Turkmenistan	41.2	19.0	5.6
45	UAE	11.6	67.0	6.8	53	49
46	Uzbekistan	33.7	31.0	6.1
47	Vietnam	79.8	42.0	5.1	102	88
48	Yemen	138.0	16.0	3.4	155	137
49	Taiwan	55.3	68.0	6.4
50	Northern Cyprus	39.3		5.8
51	Hong Kong	40.4	76.0	5.4
52	Palestine	136.2		4.7
	Asia Avg	62.5	39.98	5.29	99.0	86.3
	World Avg	67.9	42.98	5.38	82.0	82.0
q=52. No data: 9₁₈

5. Peace Versus Instability

#extremism #human_development #peace #politics #religious_violence #terrorism

Many long-standing ethnic conflicts in south Asia are specifically the results of the way the imperial British drew national state-building lines that cut through ethnic groups; "the purpose was to legitimize conquest and facilitate colonial administration"₁₉, but the result was unnatural divides that caused enduring imbalances of power and perceptions of ethnicity-based inequalities.

Pos.		Global Peace Index (2021) Lower is better₂₀	Peacekeeping and Security (2017) Lower is better Rank₁₇	Refugees and UN Treaties (2017) Lower is better Rank₁₇	Impact of Terrorism (2019) Lower is better Score₂₁
1	Afghanistan	3.63	152	135	9.60
2	Armenia	2.08	136	104	1.17
3	Azerbaijan	2.33	42	132	0.70
4	Bahrain	2.12	159	77	3.20
5	Bangladesh	2.07	87	59	5.21
6	Bhutan	1.51			0.01
7	Brunei		8	163
8	Cambodia	2.01	86	138	0.00
9	China	2.11	40	109	4.47
10	Cyprus	1.91	73	17	0.42
11	Georgia	2.05	79	101	1.34
12	India	2.55	32	89	7.52
13	Indonesia	1.78	7	62	5.07
14	Iran	2.64	83	68	4.72
15	Iraq	3.26	158	115	9.24
16	Israel	2.67	123	84	4.53
17	Japan	1.37	18	47	2.29
18	Jordan	1.92	31	111	3.09
19	Kazakhstan	1.94	20	110	1.57
20	N. Korea	2.92
21	S. Korea	1.88	35	33	0.30
22	Kuwait	1.69	140	81	2.49
23	Kyrgyzstan	2.00	121	66	1.47
24	Laos	1.81	105	159	1.03
25	Lebanon	2.80	153	76	4.40
26	Malaysia	1.52	34	40	2.50
27	Mongolia	1.78	28	141	0.00
28	Myanmar (Burma)	2.46			5.51
29	Nepal	2.03			5.09
30	Oman	1.98	11	119
31	Pakistan	2.87	92	129	7.89
32	Philippines	2.42	47	61	7.14
33	Qatar	1.61	36	94	0.03
34	Russia	2.99	82	97	4.90
35	Saudi Arabia	2.38	141	117	5.24
36	Singapore	1.35	14	30
37	Sri Lanka	2.08	26	78	3.57
38	Syria	3.37	131	142	8.01
39	Tajikistan	2.10			3.95
40	Thailand	2.21	21	23	6.03
41	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	1.87	49	102
42	Turkey	2.84	78	39	6.53
43	Turkmenistan	2.15
44	UAE	1.85	147	53	0.05
45	Uzbekistan	2.06			0.02
46	Vietnam	1.84	59	158	1.00
47	Yemen	3.41	157	128	7.26
48	Taiwan	1.66			1.01
49	Palestine	2.61			5.18
	Asia Avg	2.22	76.0	92.2	3.60
	World Avg	2.08	82.0	82.0	2.78
q=49. No data: 12₂₂

6. The Natural Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #over-exploitation #the_environment

Pos.		Forest Area Change 1990-2015 (2015) Higher is better %₂₃	Environmental Performance (2018) Higher is better₂₄	Energy to GDP Efficiency (2014) Higher is better₂₅	CBD Earlier is better Signed	Rational Beliefs on the Environment (2011) Higher is better %₂₆
1	Afghanistan	00.0	37.7		2002 Dec 18	23.6%
2	Armenia	-00.9	62.1	07.69	1993 Dec 29	25.3%
3	Azerbaijan	+34.6	62.3	10.87	2000 Nov 01	31.7%
4	Bahrain	+144.4	55.2	04.10	1996 Nov 28	26.3%
5	Bangladesh	-04.4	29.6	13.16	1994 Aug 01	61.5%
6	Bhutan	+34.7	47.2		1995 Nov 23
7	Brunei	-08.0	63.6	07.81	2008 Jul 27
8	Cambodia	-26.9	43.2	07.35	1995 May 10	37.1%
9	China	+32.6	50.7	05.52	1993 Dec 29	15.1%
10	Cyprus	+07.2	72.6	12.99	1996 Oct 08	71.0%
11	Georgia	+02.6	55.7	07.25	1994 Aug 31	31.9%
12	India	+10.5	30.6	08.40	1994 May 19	41.2%
13	Indonesia	-23.2	46.9	11.11	1994 Nov 21	66.5%
14	Iran	+17.8	58.2	05.32	1996 Nov 04	47.9%
15	Iraq	+03.3	43.2		2009 Oct 26	24.9%
16	Israel	+25.0	75.0	11.11	1995 Nov 05	27.6%
17	Japan	00.0	74.7	10.20	1993 Dec 29	64.7%
18	Jordan	-00.6	62.2	09.09	1994 Feb 10	41.4%
19	Kazakhstan	-03.3	54.6	05.10	1994 Dec 05	25.0%
20	N. Korea	-38.7			1995 Jan 24
21	S. Korea	-03.9	62.3	06.29	1995 Jan 01	70.7%
22	Kuwait	+81.2	62.3	07.58	2002 Oct 31	19.6%
23	Kyrgyzstan	-23.8	54.9	04.78	1996 Nov 04	32.0%
24	Laos	+06.3	42.9		1996 Dec 19	45.3%
25	Lebanon	+04.8	61.1	09.90	1995 Mar 15	54.3%
26	Malaysia	-00.8	59.2	08.00	1994 Sep 22	46.6%
27	Maldives	00.0	52.1		1993 Dec 29
28	Mongolia	+00.1	57.5	06.06	1993 Dec 29	38.4%
29	Myanmar (Burma)	-25.9	45.3		1995 Feb 23
30	Nepal	-24.7	31.4	05.35	1994 Feb 21	52.8%
31	Oman	00.0	51.3	06.29	1995 May 09
32	Pakistan	-41.7	37.5	09.26	1994 Oct 24	23.2%
33	Philippines	+22.7	57.7	13.51	1994 Jan 06	70.8%
34	Qatar		67.8	06.49	1996 Nov 19	26.5%
35	Russia	+00.8	63.8	04.52	1995 Jul 04	23.5%
36	Saudi Arabia	00.0	57.5	07.04	2002 Jan 01	27.2%
37	Singapore	-05.2	64.2	15.15	1996 Mar 20	41.6%
38	Sri Lanka	-09.4	60.6	20.00	1994 Jun 21	43.1%
39	Syria	+32.1			1996 Apr 03	26.6%
40	Tajikistan	+01.0	47.9	07.46	1998 Jan 27	11.1%
41	Thailand	+17.1	49.9	07.41	2004 Jan 29	49.9%
42	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	-29.0	49.5		2007 Jan 08
43	Turkey	+21.8	53.0	11.11	1997 May 15	47.4%
44	Turkmenistan	00.0	66.1		1996 Dec 17	8.6%
45	UAE	+31.7	58.9	08.13	2000 May 10	20.8%
46	Uzbekistan	+05.7	45.9		1995 Oct 17	11.3%
47	Vietnam	+65.6	47.0	07.14	1995 Feb 14	49.1%
48	Yemen	00.0		12.50	1996 May 21	43.2%
49	Taiwan		72.8
50	Hong Kong			26.32		54.8%
51	Palestine	+01.0			2015 Apr 02	27.5%
	Asia Avg	+07.0	54.5	09.14	1899 Dec 30	37.9%
	World Avg	+02.8	56.4	09.29	1899 Dec 30	39.9%
q=51. No data: 10₂₇

7. Economic Inequality and Poverty

#capitalism #economics #health #inequality #life_expectancy #poverty #social_development

Pos.		Inequality in Life Expectancy (2019) Lower is better₂₈	Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) (2017) Lower is better %₂₉	Multidimensional Poverty (2018) Lower is better Severity₃₀
1	Afghanistan	28.30		.272
2	Armenia	8.70	33.6	.001
3	Azerbaijan	13.90
4	Bahrain	5.50
5	Bangladesh	17.30	32.4	.198
6	Bhutan	17.10	37.4	.175
7	Brunei	7.60
8	Cambodia	18.10		.170
9	China	7.90	38.6	.016
10	Cyprus	3.60	34.0
11	Georgia	7.90	37.9
12	India	19.70	35.7	.123
13	Indonesia	13.90	38.1	.028
14	Iran	9.20	40.0
15	Iraq	15.90	29.5	.033
16	Israel	3.30	38.9
17	Japan	2.90	32.1
18	Jordan	10.60	33.7	.002
19	Kazakhstan	7.70	27.5	.002
20	N. Korea	11.50
21	S. Korea	3.00	31.6
22	Kuwait	5.90
23	Kyrgyzstan	11.30	27.3	.008
24	Laos	22.60	36.4	.108
25	Lebanon	7.40	31.8
26	Malaysia	6.10	41.0
27	Maldives	6.00	38.4	.003
28	Mongolia	13.10	32.3	.042
29	Myanmar (Burma)	22.80	38.1	.176
30	Nepal	17.50	32.8	.148
31	Oman	6.70
32	Pakistan	29.90	33.5	.198
33	Philippines	15.30	40.1	.024
34	Qatar	5.70
35	Russia	7.10	37.7
36	Saudi Arabia	6.40
37	Singapore	2.50
38	Sri Lanka	7.00	39.8
39	Syria	13.00		.029
40	Tajikistan	16.70	34.0	.029
41	Thailand	7.90	36.5	.003
42	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	21.70	28.7	.210
43	Turkey	9.00	41.9
44	Turkmenistan	23.40		.001
45	UAE	5.20
46	Uzbekistan	13.90
47	Vietnam	12.90	35.3	.019
48	Yemen	24.70	36.7	.241
49	Hong Kong	2.50
50	Palestine	12.00	33.7	.004
	Asia Avg	11.80	35.2	.084
	World Avg	14.59	38.1	.154
q=50. No data: 11₁₂

8. Modernity and Learning

#education #english #intelligence #it_security #maths #politics #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #the_internet

Modernity and Education:

Pos.		Research and Development (2016) Higher is better % RDP PPP	Secondary Education (2018) Higher is better₃₁	Length of Schooling (2021) Higher is better Years₃₂	Intellectual Endeavours (2017) Lower is better Rank₁₇	Maths, Science & Reading (2015) Higher is better Score₃₃	Religiosity (2018) Lower is better %₃₄	IQ (2006) Higher is better₃₅
1	Afghanistan		26.1%	10.3	159		92	84
2	Armenia	0.24₃₆	97.2%	13.1	56		53	94
3	Azerbaijan	0.21₃₆	95.6%	13.5	129		38	87
4	Bahrain	0.04₃₆	59.6%	16.3	115
5	Bangladesh		46.7%	12.4	130		80	82
6	Bhutan		12.0%	13.2
7	Brunei		70.1%	14.0	125			91
8	Cambodia		21.3%	11.5	153			91
9	China	0.03₃₆	78.6%	14.2	70	1543₃₇	3	105
10	Cyprus	0.48₃₆	80.3%	15.6	31	1313
11	Georgia	0.13₃₈	98.0%	15.6	86	1216	51	94
12	India	0.82₃₉	51.6%	11.9	67		80	82
13	Indonesia	0.08₃₆	48.8%	13.7	160	1186	93	87
14	Iran	0.31₄₀	69.8%	14.6	90		78	84
15	Iraq	0.03₃₉	48.0%	12.1	162		82	87
16	Israel	4.11₄₁	89.1%	16.1	34	1416	36	95
17	Japan	3.58₄₁	93.6%	15.2	61	1586	10	105
18	Jordan	0.43₄₂	84.0%	10.6	65	1197	85	84
19	Kazakhstan	0.17₃₆	98.6%	15.8	116		22	94
20	N. Korea			10.8
21	S. Korea	4.29₄₁	95.2%	16.5	44	1557	16	106
22	Kuwait	0.30₃₆	51.5%	15.3	127			86
23	Kyrgyzstan	0.16₃₉	98.4%	13.2	80		47	90
24	Laos		40.4%	10.1	100			89
25	Lebanon		54.9%	11.3	68	1129	57	82
26	Malaysia	1.13₄₃	80.8%	13.3	52		77	92
27	Maldives		47.1%	12.6
28	Mongolia	0.23₃₆	88.8%	15.0	131			101
29	Myanmar (Burma)	0.11₄₄	25.8%	10.9
30	Nepal	0.30₄₀	35.9%	12.9				78
31	Oman	0.17₃₆	66.4%	14.6	123			83
32	Pakistan	0.29₃₆	37.2%	8.7	88		94	84
33	Philippines	0.11₄₅	73.2%	13.1	146		91	86
34	Qatar	0.47₄₃	67.5%	12.6	145	1222
35	Russia	1.19₄₁	95.9%	15.8	53	1476	16	97
36	Saudi Arabia	0.07₄₆	72.8%	16.1	81			84
37	Singapore	2.00₄₇	79.6%	16.5	26	1655		108
38	Sri Lanka	0.16₄₀	82.8%	14.1	117			79
39	Syria		41.0%	9.2	140			83
40	Tajikistan	0.12₃₆	93.1%	11.7			50
41	Thailand	0.39₃₉	44.8%	15.9	107	1245		91
42	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)			12.6	73
43	Turkey	1.01₄₁	53.1%	18.3	55	1273	68
44	Turkmenistan			13.2				87
45	UAE	0.49₃₉	70.7%	15.7	84	1298		84
46	Uzbekistan		99.9%	12.5			29	87
47	Vietnam	0.19₃₉	69.4%	13.0	128	1507	18	94
48	Yemen		28.0%	9.1	108			85
49	Taiwan	3.01₄₁				1571		105
50	Hong Kong	0.73₄₃	79.4%	17.3		1598		108
51	Macau	0.05₃₆				1582
52	Palestine		61.1%	13.4			86
	Asia Avg	0.75	66.0%	13.5	97.1	1398	55.8	90.4
	World Avg	0.84	63.0%	13.5	82.0	1389	54.3	85.6
q=52. No data: 9₄₈

Technology and Information:

Pos.		Internet Users (2016) Higher is better₄₉	Internet Freedom (2012) Lower is better₅₀	IT Security (2013) Lower is better₅₁	IPv6 Uptake (2017) Higher is better Ratio₅₂
1	Afghanistan	7%		1.45
2	Armenia	50%		1.22	0.0
3	Azerbaijan	61%	50	1.21	0.0
4	Bahrain	92%	71		0.0
5	Bangladesh	13%		1.87	0.0
6	Bhutan	37%			0.4
7	Brunei	72%			0.0
8	Cambodia	11%			0.0
9	China	52%	85	1.59	0.3
10	Cyprus	72%			0.0
11	Georgia	53%	30		0.0
12	India	35%	39	2.10	26.8
13	Indonesia	20%	42	1.05	0.2
14	Iran	49%	90	0.85	0.1
15	Iraq	13%		1.84	0.0
16	Israel	73%		0.20	1.8
17	Japan	91%		0.22	22.1
18	Jordan	46%	45		0.0
19	Kazakhstan	56%	58	1.23	0.0
20	S. Korea	86%	34	0.56	1.2
21	Kuwait	80%		0.93	0.0
22	Kyrgyzstan	34%	35		0.0
23	Laos	16%		0.86	0.0
24	Lebanon	76%			0.0
25	Malaysia	69%	43	0.96	16.5
26	Maldives	54%		1.57	0.0
27	Mongolia	36%		1.42	0.0
28	Myanmar (Burma)	3%	75		0.0
29	Nepal	17%		1.45
30	Oman	71%		1.72	0.0
31	Pakistan	18%	63	0.38	0.0
32	Philippines	44%	23	0.24	0.0
33	Qatar	92%		0.65	0.0
34	Russia	71%	52	2.42	1.3
35	Saudi Arabia	65%	71	0.93	6.8
36	Singapore	83%			4.0
37	Sri Lanka	29%	55	1.67	2.9
38	Syria	30%	83		0.0
39	Tajikistan	19%		1.01
40	Thailand	43%	61		3.3
41	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	1%			0.0
42	Turkey	58%	46	0.52	0.3
43	Turkmenistan	15%		1.23	0.0
44	UAE	92%			0.3
45	Uzbekistan	51%	77	0.69	0.0
46	Vietnam	52%	73	1.15	5.9
47	Yemen	25%			0.0
48	Taiwan			0.44
49	Hong Kong	74%		0.12	0.7
50	Macau	73%			4.2
51	Palestine	63%			0.0
	Asia Avg	48.7%	56.6	1.08	2.11
	World Avg	48.1%	46.7	0.98	3.82
q=51. No data: 10₅₃

9. Health

#alcohol #birth_control #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Hong Kong and The Maldives₇. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are The Marshall Islands, S. Sudan and Palau₇.

The data sets used to calculate points for each country are its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Asia and The Mediterranean₇, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Australasia and Africa₇.

For more, see:

"Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Health:

Pos.		Life Expectancy (2021) Higher is better Years₄	Alcohol Consumption (2016) Lower is better Per Capita₅₄	Fertility Rate (2013) 2.0 is best₁₀	Smoking Rates (2014) Lower is better₅₅	Suicide Rate (2013) Per 100k₅₆	Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017) Lower is better Rank₁₇	Overweight Adults (2016) Lower is better %₅₇
1	Afghanistan	62.0	0.2	6.03	84		131	23.0
2	Armenia	72.0	5.5	1.74	1 545	3.9	31	54.4
3	Azerbaijan	69.4	0.8	2.16	2 114	1.3	89	53.6
4	Bahrain	78.8	1.9	2.46	969	7.5	93	65.8
5	Bangladesh	72.4	0.0	2.16	665		32	20.0
6	Bhutan	71.8	0.6	2.27	155			27.1
7	Brunei	74.6	0.4	1.99	1 023		68	41.2
8	Cambodia	69.6	6.7	2.45	645		65	21.7
9	China	78.2	7.2	1.57	2 250		48	32.3
10	Cyprus	81.2	10.8	1.46	1 688	9.1	59	59.1
11	Georgia	71.7	9.8	1.53	1 378	8.8	66	54.2
12	India	67.2	5.7	2.55	111	20.8	35	19.7
13	Indonesia	67.6	0.8	2.07	1 322		84	28.2
14	Iran	73.9	1.0	1.60	869		118	61.6
15	Iraq	70.4	0.4	4.57	1 227		135	64.6
16	Israel	82.3	3.8	2.91	1 346	8.5	51	64.3
17	Japan	84.8	8.0	1.40	1 713	49.4	21	27.2
18	Jordan	74.3	0.7	2.93	1 855	0.2	18	69.6
19	Kazakhstan	69.4	7.7	2.52	2 157	52.4	72	53.6
20	N. Korea	73.3	3.9	2.00	610			32.4
21	S. Korea	83.7	10.2	1.38	2 073	62	19	30.3
22	Kuwait	78.7	0.0	2.27	1 517	3.6	20	73.4
23	Kyrgyzstan	70.0	6.2	2.64	683₅₈	17.7	86	48.3
24	Laos	68.1	10.4	2.58	836		123	25.4
25	Lebanon	75.0	1.5	1.77	3 023		63	67.9
26	Malaysia	74.9	0.9	2.58	584		46	42.5
27	Maldives	79.9	2.7	1.67	215	0.7		30.6
28	Mongolia	71.0	7.4	2.48	957		130	55.6
29	Myanmar (Burma)	65.7	4.8	1.95	206			24.8
30	Nepal	68.4	2.0	2.60	83			21.0
31	Oman	72.5	0.8	2.17	577		26	62.6
32	Pakistan	66.1	0.3	3.25	511		38	28.4
33	Philippines	69.3	6.6	3.06	1 291		94	27.6
34	Qatar	79.3	2.0	2.20	698		25	71.7
35	Russia	69.4	11.7	1.52	2 690	63.4	43	57.1
36	Saudi Arabia	76.9	0.2	2.67	1 395		15	69.7
37	Singapore	82.8	2.0	1.35	652	20.6	49	31.8
38	Sri Lanka	76.4	4.3	2.26	322		78	23.3
39	Syria	72.1	0.3	2.81	459		88	61.4
40	Tajikistan	71.6	3.3	3.19	533	5.2		45.3
41	Thailand	78.7	8.3	1.54	895	15.8	37	32.6
42	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	67.7	2.1	5.99			105	21.6
43	Turkey	76.0	2.0	2.04	1 581		44	66.8
44	Turkmenistan	69.3	5.4	2.33	925₅₈			51.8
45	UAE	78.7	3.8	1.70	715		14	67.8
46	Uzbekistan	70.9	2.7	2.29	573	9.3		48.2
47	Vietnam	73.6	8.4	1.77	1 215		99	18.3
48	Yemen	63.8	0.1	4.98	388		119	48.8
49	Hong Kong	85.5		1.12	345	29.7
50	Palestine	73.5		4.31
	Asia Avg	73.48	3.9	2.46	1 035	19.50	64.4	44.3
	World Avg	71.28	6.2	2.81	819	20.93	82.0	49.0
q=50. No data: 11₁₂

Children's Health:

Pos.		Adolescent Birth Rate (2015) Lower is better Per 1000₅₉	Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015) Higher is better Avg %₆₀
1	Afghanistan	74.0	70.6
2	Armenia	23.0	95.6
3	Azerbaijan	59.8	92.2
4	Bahrain	13.5	98.2
5	Bangladesh	83.0	94.0
6	Bhutan	21.4	95.6
7	Brunei	21.0	96.6
8	Cambodia	51.6	86.5
9	China	7.3	99.0
10	Cyprus	5.0	95.3
11	Georgia	39.7	93.1
12	India	24.5	75.1
13	Indonesia	49.6	76.4
14	Iran	26.7	98.1
15	Iraq	84.0	70.7
16	Israel	9.7	95.2
17	Japan	4.1	95.7
18	Jordan	23.2	96.6
19	Kazakhstan	27.9	97.1
20	N. Korea	0.5	93.8
21	S. Korea	1.6	98.6
22	Kuwait	9.8	97.5
23	Kyrgyzstan	39.6	96.7
24	Laos	64.1	83.3
25	Lebanon	12.4	79.4
26	Malaysia	13.6	96.0
27	Maldives	6.7	96.2
28	Mongolia	15.7	98.7
29	Myanmar (Burma)	16.5	80.3
30	Nepal	71.9	90.1
31	Oman	8.1	98.0
32	Pakistan	38.7	73.0
33	Philippines	61.7	77.9
34	Qatar	10.7	95.6
35	Russia	23.4	97.0
36	Saudi Arabia	8.8	98.0
37	Singapore	3.8	94.6
38	Sri Lanka	14.8	98.4
39	Syria	39.4	62.4
40	Tajikistan	38.1	96.1
41	Thailand	44.6	97.8
42	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	46.6	76.5
43	Turkey	27.6	95.5
44	Turkmenistan	16.4	97.2
45	UAE	29.7	94.0
46	Uzbekistan	17.7	98.9
47	Vietnam	38.6	92.3
48	Yemen	61.5	67.4
49	Hong Kong	3.2
50	Palestine	58.6
	Asia Avg	29.9	90.5
	World Avg	47.9	88.3
q=50. No data: 11₁₂

10. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#Asia #china #equality #gender_equality #hong_kong #human_rights #morals #politics #prejudice #tolerance

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2020)₉_,₆
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₉_,₆
1	Hong Kong	24.3
2	Taiwan	28.2
3	Japan	42.1
4	S. Korea	45.7
5	Cyprus	46.7
6	Mongolia	60.5
7	Georgia	64.3
8	Armenia	71.6
9	Philippines	78.4
10	Kyrgyzstan	79.6
	...
49	Pakistan	141.5
50	N. Korea	146.8
51	Brunei	147.1
	Asia Avg	99.8
	World Avg	87.7
q=51.

Asia is a huge and diverse continent, so much so, that's it's not necessarily sensible to attempt to compare countries across the continent as a whole. Nonetheless, it is still a major geographical bloc, and we should let those who do well shine and serve as examples. The best countries in Asia at protecting human rights, engendering tolerance and supporting equality, are Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan but the continent as a whole does poorly compared to the global average. The worst countries are Brunei, N. Korea and Pakistan. Hong Kong shows us something about the statistics: They are often several years behind reality; HK now has been subject to increasing restrictions and is also less transparent to the outside world due to Chinese control.

For full commentary and data, see:

Human Rights, Freedom, Tolerance and Equality in Asia: Statistical Comparisons

11. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #folk_religion #god #hinduism #human_development #islam #judaism #no_religion #religion #religiosity #secularisation

Pos.		Religiosity (2018) Lower is better %₃₄	Disbelief In God (2007) Higher is better %₆₁	Jews (2010) %₆₂	Christians (2010) %₆₂	Muslims (2010) %₆₂	Hindus (2010) %₆₂	Buddhists (2010) %₆₂	Folk Religion (2010) %₆₂	Unaffiliated (2010) %₆₂
1	Afghanistan	92	0	0.1	0.1	99.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
2	Armenia	53	14	0.1	98.5	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.3
3	Azerbaijan	38	0	0.1	3.0	96.9	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
4	Bahrain			0.6	14.5	70.3	9.8	2.5	0.1	1.9
5	Bangladesh	80	0	0.1	0.2	89.8	9.1	0.5	0.4	0.1
6	Bhutan			0.1	0.5	0.2	22.6	74.7	1.9	0.1
7	Brunei		0	0.1	9.4	75.1	0.3	8.6	6.2	0.4
8	Cambodia		7	0.1	0.4	2.0	0.1	96.9	0.6	0.2
9	China	3	12	0.1	5.1	1.8	0.1	18.2	21.9	52.2
10	Cyprus			0.1	73.2	25.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	1.2
11	Georgia	51	4	0.1	88.5	10.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.7
12	India	80	3	0.1	2.5	14.4	79.5	0.8	0.5	0.1
13	Indonesia	93	2	0.1	9.9	87.2	1.7	0.7	0.3	0.1
14	Iran	78	4	0.1	0.2	99.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
15	Iraq	82	0	0.1	0.8	99.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
16	Israel	36	15	75.6	2.0	18.6	0.1	0.3	0.2	3.1
17	Japan	10	65	0.1	1.6	0.2	0.1	36.2	0.4	57.0
18	Jordan	85	0	0.1	2.2	97.2	0.1	0.4	0.1	0.1
19	Kazakhstan	22	12	0.1	24.8	70.4	0.1	0.2	0.3	4.2
20	N. Korea			0.1	2.0	0.1	0.1	1.5	12.3	71.3
21	S. Korea	16	30	0.1	29.4	0.2	0.1	22.9	0.8	46.4
22	Kuwait		0	0.1	14.3	74.1	8.5	2.8	0.1	0.1
23	Kyrgyzstan	47	7	0.1	11.4	88.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.4
24	Laos		5	0.1	1.5	0.1	0.1	66.0	30.7	0.9
25	Lebanon	57	3	0.1	38.3	61.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.3
26	Malaysia	77	0	0.1	9.4	63.7	6.0	17.7	2.3	0.7
27	Maldives			0.1	0.4	98.4	0.3	0.6	0.1	0.1
28	Mongolia		20	0.1	2.3	3.2	0.1	55.1	3.5	35.9
29	Myanmar (Burma)			0.1	7.8	4.0	1.7	80.1	5.8	0.5
30	Nepal		0	0.1	0.5	4.6	80.7	10.3	3.7	0.3
31	Oman		0	0.1	6.5	85.9	5.5	0.8	0.1	0.2
32	Pakistan	94	0	0.1	1.6	96.4	1.9	0.1	0.1	0.1
33	Philippines	91	0	0.1	92.6	5.5	0.1	0.1	1.5	0.1
34	Qatar			0.1	13.8	67.7	13.8	3.1	0.1	0.9
35	Russia	16	27	0.2	73.3	10.0	0.1	0.1	0.2	16.2
36	Saudi Arabia		0	0.1	4.4	93.0	1.1	0.3	0.3	0.7
37	Singapore		13	0.1	18.2	14.3	5.2	33.9	2.3	16.4
38	Sri Lanka		0	0.1	7.3	9.8	13.6	69.3	0.1	0.1
39	Syria		0	0.1	5.2	92.8	0.1	0.1	0.1	2.0
40	Tajikistan	50	2	0.1	1.6	96.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.5
41	Thailand		0	0.1	0.9	5.5	0.1	93.2	0.1	0.3
42	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)			0.1	99.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
43	Turkey	68		0.1	0.4	98.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.2
44	Turkmenistan		2	0.1	6.4	93.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.5
45	UAE		0	0.1	12.6	76.9	6.6	2.0	0.1	1.1
46	Uzbekistan	29	4	0.1	2.3	96.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.8
47	Vietnam	18	81	0.1	8.2	0.2	0.1	16.4	45.3	29.6
48	Yemen		0	0.1	0.2	99.0	0.6	0.1	0.1	0.1
49	Taiwan		24	0.1	5.5	0.1	0.1	21.3	44.2	12.7
50	Hong Kong			0.1	14.3	1.8	0.4	13.2	12.8	56.1
51	Macau			0.1	7.2	0.2	0.1	17.3	58.9	15.4
52	Palestine	86		0.1	2.4	97.6	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
	Asia Avg	55.8	8.9	1.6	16.1	48.0	5.2	14.8	5.0	8.4
	World Avg	54.3	9.9	0.5	60.6	22.4	2.0	3.5	2.7	7.9
q=52. No data: 9₄₈

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