Which are the Best Countries in The Americas?

Social & Moral Development Index1,2
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank1,2
1	Canada	37.3
2	USA	55.8
3	Uruguay	56.5
4	Costa Rica	56.5
5	Chile	58.8
6	Argentina	67.8
7	Brazil	68.1
8	Barbados	72.5
9	Peru	73.5
10	Mexico	74.1
	The Americas Avg	81.6
	World Avg	86.1
q=35.

Out of all the countries in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America, who scores most highly on the Social and Moral Index?

There are 58 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: 1.0b
• Land Area: 38 793 822km² (23% of Earth's land)
• Independent States: 35
• Other Territories: 23
• Compare to other regions of the world

1. Summary Data
2. Social and Moral Development
3. Demographics and Migration
4. National Culture
5. Peace Versus Instability
6. The Natural Environment
7. Economic Inequality and Poverty
8. Modernity and Learning
9. Health
10. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
11. Religion and Beliefs
12. Links

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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	USA	327.1m	55.8	$64 765	0.921	9 147 420	36
2	Brazil	209.5m	68.1	$14 370	0.754	8 459 420	25
3	Mexico	126.2m	74.1	$17 896	0.758	1 943 950	65
4	Colombia	49.7m	81.5	$14 384	0.752	1 109 500	45
5	Argentina	44.4m	67.8	$20 925	0.842	2 736 690	16
6	Canada	37.1m	37.3	$46 808	0.936	9 093 510	4
7	Peru	32.0m	73.5	$12 246	0.762	1 280 000	25
8	Venezuela	28.9m	99.3	$4 811	0.691	882 050	33
9	Chile	18.7m	58.8	$24 563	0.855	743 532	25
10	Guatemala	17.2m	85.8	$8 723	0.627	107 160	161
11	Ecuador	17.1m	75.6	$10 312	0.740	248 360	69
12	Bolivia	11.4m	80.4	$8 111	0.692	1 083 300	10
13	Cuba	11.3m	81.8	$7 879	0.764	106 440	107
14	Haiti	11.1m	110.9	$2 848	0.535	27 560	404
15	Dominican Rep.	10.6m	86.0	$17 990	0.767	48 320	220
16	Honduras	9.6m	99.1	$5 298	0.621	111 890	86
17	Paraguay	7.0m	89.3	$12 349	0.717	397 300	18
18	Nicaragua	6.5m	90.8	$5 625	0.667	120 340	54
19	El Salvador	6.4m	88.1	$8 296	0.675	20 720	310
20	Costa Rica	5.0m	56.5	$19 974	0.809	51 060	98
21	Panama	4.2m	78.0	$26 957	0.805	74 340	56
22	Uruguay	3.4m	56.5	$21 269	0.809	175 020	20
23	Jamaica	2.9m	83.2	$8 834	0.709	10 830	271
24	Trinidad & Tobago	1.4m	74.2	$23 392	0.810	5 130	271
25	Guyana	0.8m	96.8	$22 465	0.714	196 850	4
26	Suriname	0.6m	98.6	$12 672	0.730	156 000	4
27	Bahamas	0.4m	89.6	$30 486	0.812	10 010	39
28	Belize	0.4m	91.8	$6 309	0.683	22 810	17
29	Barbados	0.3m	72.5	$12 306	0.790	430	667
30	St Lucia	0.2m	95.6	$12 048	0.715	610	298
31	Grenada	0.1m	94.2	$13 484	0.795	340	328
32	St Vincent & Grenadines	0.1m	92.7	$11 961	0.751	390	283
33	Antigua & Barbuda	96 286	88.7	$16 792	0.788	440	219
34	Dominica	71 625	95.7	$11 488	0.720	750	96
35	St Kitts & Nevis	52 441	88.5	$23 358	0.777	260	202
	The Americas Avg	28.6m	81.6	$16 628	0.75	923 662	31
	World Avg	39.0m	86.1	$20 136	0.72	620 450	63
q=35.

Not showing due to lack of data: St Barthelemy.

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:

• Compare to other regions of the world
• What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life
• The Population of the Earth
• Homosexuality in Animals and Humans

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	Canada	37.3	21.6	83.5	21.2
2	USA	55.8	29.3	92.4	47.4
3	Uruguay	56.5	69.4	103.6	26.7
4	Costa Rica	56.5	68.9	93.8	36.7
5	Chile	58.8	51.6	99.1	40.1
6	Argentina	67.8	43.8	114.9	43.8
7	Brazil	68.1	55.1	82.1	52.3
8	Barbados	72.5	54.2	85.1	85.3
9	Peru	73.5	70.1	96.5	54.0
10	Mexico	74.1	59.8	102.6	56.6
11	Trinidad & Tobago	74.2	69.1	86.6	81.5
12	Ecuador	75.6	83.9	90.5	58.1
13	Panama	78.0	88.0	98.1	59.9
14	Bolivia	80.4	90.1	103.4	53.8
15	Colombia	81.5	77.1	100.3	64.4
16	Cuba	81.8	80.3	82.4	97.7
17	Jamaica	83.2	97.8	106.6	64.6
18	Guatemala	85.8	111.7	103.8	63.0
19	Dominican Rep.	86.0	83.4	109.4	83.3
20	El Salvador	88.1	111.1	90.5	66.9
21	St Kitts & Nevis	88.5	56.7	91.8	123.4
22	Antigua & Barbuda	88.7	84.0	75.6	105.4
23	Paraguay	89.3	104.4	98.4	70.5
24	Bahamas	89.6	80.0	92.3	105.3
25	Nicaragua	90.8	117.7	87.5	74.5
26	Belize	91.8	86.0	107.1	94.1
27	St Vincent & Grenadines	92.7	90.3	96.8	89.6
28	Grenada	94.2	68.5	86.6	128.6
29	St Lucia	95.6	97.8	88.9	116.3
30	Dominica	95.7	83.8	98.0	105.6
31	Guyana	96.8	122.6	87.5	102.9
32	Suriname	98.6	114.4	100.0	86.9
33	Honduras	99.1	130.6	101.4	72.1
34	Venezuela	99.3	87.1	118.5	76.7
35	Haiti	110.9	153.8	111.4	86.6
	The Americas Avg	81.6	81.7	96.2	74.2
	World Avg	86.1	83.2	93.5	87.7
q=35.

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

#birth_control #demographics #dominica #emigration #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population #the_americas

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	Antigua & Barbuda	96 286	78.5		19.0
2	Argentina	44.4m	75.4	2.18	20.3
3	Bahamas	0.4m	71.6	1.88	22.4
4	Barbados	0.3m	77.6	1.57	35.6
5	Belize	0.4m	70.5	2.70	08.3
6	Bolivia	11.4m	63.6	3.25	12.7
7	Brazil	209.5m	72.8	1.80	19.9
8	Canada	37.1m	82.7	1.69	38.5
9	Chile	18.7m	78.9	1.84	27.0
10	Colombia	49.7m	72.8	2.31	18.8
11	Costa Rica	5.0m	77.0	1.81	22.6
12	Cuba	11.3m	73.7	1.45	36.2
13	Dominica	71 625	72.8
14	Dominican Rep.	10.6m	72.6	2.51	15.6
15	Ecuador	17.1m	73.7	2.41	16.0
16	El Salvador	6.4m	70.7	2.18	17.3
17	Grenada	0.1m	74.9	2.18	16.2
18	Guatemala	17.2m	69.2	3.86	09.5
19	Guyana	0.8m	65.7	2.21	15.0
20	Haiti	11.1m	63.2	3.19	09.6
21	Honduras	9.6m	70.1	3.02	11.0
22	Jamaica	2.9m	70.5	2.28	21.0
23	Mexico	126.2m	70.2	2.25	15.4
24	Nicaragua	6.5m	73.8	2.52	13.1
25	Panama	4.2m	76.2	2.42	17.7
26	Paraguay	7.0m	70.3	2.87	13.2
27	Peru	32.0m	72.4	2.43	15.5
28	St Kitts & Nevis	52 441	71.7
29	St Lucia	0.2m	71.1	1.93	19.9
30	St Vincent & Grenadines	0.1m	69.6	2.01	19.7
31	Suriname	0.6m	70.3	2.28	16.2
32	Trinidad & Tobago	1.4m	73.0	1.63	21.9
33	USA	327.1m	77.2	2.08	33.8
34	Uruguay	3.4m	75.4	2.05	26.8
35	Venezuela	28.9m	70.6	2.41	15.6
	The Americas Avg	28.6m	72.58	2.29	19.4
	World Avg	39.0m	71.28	2.81	18.3
q=35. No data: 2312

Migration:

Covering North America, Central America and the Caribbean as well as South America, this region of the world has wildly variant migration rates across its disparate economies. The countries in The Americas with the highest percent of immigrants in their populations are Antigua & Barbuda (28.1%), Canada (21.5%) and Belize (16.0%), although the average for The Americas is 6%. The highest rates of emigration are seen in Dominica (104.8%), Grenada (65.5%) and St Kitts & Nevis (61.1%), with an average continental rate of 21%. Dominica is going through an era of mass deportations and high migration.

For full commentary and data, see:

• Which Country in the Americas Has the Most Immigrants Or Emigrants?

4. National Culture

#charity #corruption #happiness #morals #politics

Pos.		World Giving Index (2013-2021) Lower is better13	Corruption (2022) Higher is better Points14	Happiness (2018) Higher is better15	Creativity and Culture (2017) Lower is better Rank16	Open Trading, Aid and Development (2017) Lower is better Rank16
1	Antigua & Barbuda				74	139
2	Argentina	85.3	38.0	6.4	113	100
3	Bahamas		64.0		52	127
4	Barbados		65.0		18	32
5	Belize	70.0		6.0	36	141
6	Bolivia	65.3	31.0	5.8	98	106
7	Brazil	62.7	38.0	6.4	119	162
8	Canada	10.1	74.0	7.3	25	27
9	Chile	47.1	67.0	6.5	51	73
10	Colombia	59.3	39.0	6.3	118	119
11	Costa Rica	49.0	54.0	7.1	32	82
12	Cuba		45.0
13	Dominica		55.0		73	104
14	Dominican Rep.	36.7	32.0	5.3	125	76
15	Ecuador	100.9	36.0	6.0	106	110
16	El Salvador	100.7	33.0	6.2	99	58
17	Grenada		52.0		50	155
18	Guatemala	34.3	24.0	6.4	83	78
19	Guyana		40.0		68	118
20	Haiti	41.7	17.0	3.6	92	53
21	Honduras	55.5	23.0	5.5	120	64
22	Jamaica	38.5	44.0	5.9	86	146
23	Mexico	93.0	31.0	6.5	64	108
24	Nicaragua	69.1	19.0	6.1	100	20
25	Panama	52.5	36.0	6.4	117	68
26	Paraguay	77.3	28.0	5.7	140	154
27	Peru	82.9	36.0	5.7	90	96
28	St Lucia		55.0		24	125
29	St Vincent & Grenadines		60.0		43	144
30	Suriname	66.0	40.0		80	151
31	Trinidad & Tobago	16.5	42.0	6.2	71	28
32	USA	4.7	69.0	6.9	67	62
33	Uruguay	64.6	74.0	6.4	59	135
34	Venezuela	106.4	14.0	4.8	154	156
35	Puerto Rico	29.0
	The Americas Avg	58.4	42.97	6.05	80.2	100.5
	World Avg	67.9	42.98	5.38	82.0	82.0
q=35. No data: 2317

Transparency International's analysis of corruption throughout The Americas concludes that "a lack of bold, decisive action to fight corruption and strengthen public institutions is fuelling organised criminal activities and other sources of violence. It is also undermining democracy, human rights and development"₁₈. With 100 being "very clean", Uruguay and Canada score in the 70s, whilst in the 60s sit the USA, Chile, Barbados, Bahamas and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The three countries at the bottom all score under 20; they are Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua. They are some of the poorest countries in the region who can least afford to lose finances through corruption, but, who are also the most unable to combat it.

5. Peace Versus Instability

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

Pos.		Global Peace Index (2021) Lower is better19	Peacekeeping and Security (2017) Lower is better Rank16	Refugees and UN Treaties (2017) Lower is better Rank16	Impact of Terrorism (2019) Lower is better Score20
1	Antigua & Barbuda		103	131
2	Argentina	1.95	39	49	1.68
3	Bahamas		94	148
4	Barbados		126	103
5	Belize		143	113
6	Bolivia	2.14	45	46	3.39
7	Brazil	2.43	61	50	2.53
8	Canada	1.33	41	11	3.59
9	Chile	1.83	19	26	4.12
10	Colombia	2.69	15	121	5.91
11	Costa Rica	1.74	16	22	0.00
12	Cuba	2.04
13	Dominica		137	116
14	Dominican Rep.	2.02	129	51	0.18
15	Ecuador	2.04	24	80	2.46
16	El Salvador	2.18	134	147	0.00
17	Grenada		62	152
18	Guatemala	2.20	23	71	1.33
19	Guyana	2.11	75	154	0.04
20	Haiti	2.15	144	140	2.18
21	Honduras	2.37	88	122	0.99
22	Jamaica	1.99	74	86	0.47
23	Mexico	2.62	85	99	4.08
24	Nicaragua	2.45	96	87	2.95
25	Panama	1.92	110	27	0.04
26	Paraguay	2.00	30	82	3.12
27	Peru	2.03	97	95	2.84
28	St Lucia		139	157
29	St Vincent & Grenadines		142	134
30	Suriname		114	105
31	Trinidad & Tobago	2.03	116	136	0.02
32	USA	2.34	72	29	5.69
33	Uruguay	1.82	6	37	0.17
34	Venezuela	2.93	118	91	4.10
	The Americas Avg	2.13	82.3	91.5	2.16
	World Avg	2.08	82.0	82.0	2.78
q=34. No data: 2421

6. The Natural Environment

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

Pos.		Forest Area Change 1990-2015 (2015) Higher is better %22	Environmental Performance (2018) Higher is better23	Energy to GDP Efficiency (2014) Higher is better24	CBD Earlier is better Signed	Rational Beliefs on the Environment (2011) Higher is better %25
1	Antigua & Barbuda	-04.9	59.2		1993 Dec 29
2	Argentina	-22.1	59.3	09.35	1995 Feb 20	78.3%
3	Bahamas	00.0	55.0		1993 Dec 29
4	Barbados	00.0	55.8		1994 Mar 10
5	Belize	-15.5	57.8		1994 Mar 30	50.6%
6	Bolivia	-12.8	56.0	07.87	1995 Jan 01	69.3%
7	Brazil	-09.7	60.7	10.10	1994 May 29	77.1%
8	Canada	-00.3	72.2	05.56	1993 Dec 29	41.2%
9	Chile	+16.2	57.5	10.42	1994 Dec 08	63.8%
10	Colombia	-09.2	65.2	17.54	1995 Feb 26	70.3%
11	Costa Rica	+07.5	67.9	13.51	1994 Nov 24	74.2%
12	Cuba	+56.9	63.4		1994 Jun 06
13	Dominica	-13.3	59.4		1994 Jul 05
14	Dominican Rep.	+79.5	64.7	16.95	1997 Feb 23	50.2%
15	Ecuador	-04.4	57.4	11.90	1993 Dec 29	57.2%
16	El Salvador	-29.7	53.9	11.76	1994 Dec 07	66.8%
17	Grenada	00.0	50.9		1994 Nov 09
18	Guatemala	-25.4	52.3	08.47	1995 Oct 08	70.9%
19	Guyana	-00.8	47.9		1994 Nov 27	30.1%
20	Haiti	-16.4	33.7		1996 Dec 24	10.0%
21	Honduras	-43.6	51.5	06.80	1995 Oct 29	48.1%
22	Jamaica	-02.7	58.6	08.06	1995 Apr 06
23	Mexico	-05.3	59.7	10.64	1993 Dec 29	67.0%
24	Nicaragua	-31.0	55.0		1996 Feb 18	67.0%
25	Panama	-08.4	62.7	17.86	1995 Apr 17	64.6%
26	Paraguay	-27.6	53.9	10.53	1994 May 25	68.9%
27	Peru	-05.1	61.9	14.49	1993 Dec 29	63.9%
28	St Kitts & Nevis	00.0			1993 Dec 29
29	St Lucia	-06.9	56.2		1993 Dec 29
30	St Vincent & Grenadines	+08.0	66.5		1996 Sep 01
31	Suriname	-00.6	54.2		1996 Apr 11
32	Trinidad & Tobago	-02.6	67.4	02.07	1996 Oct 30	74.5%
33	USA	+02.7	71.2	07.58		19.7%
34	Uruguay	+131.3	64.7	14.08	1994 Feb 03	62.4%
35	Venezuela	-10.3	63.9		1994 Dec 12	60.1%
	The Americas Avg	-00.2	58.8	10.78	1899 Dec 30	58.6%
	World Avg	+02.8	56.4	09.29	1899 Dec 30	39.9%
q=35. No data: 2312

7. Economic Inequality and Poverty

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

Pos.		Inequality in Life Expectancy (2019) Lower is better26	Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) (2017) Lower is better %27	Multidimensional Poverty (2018) Lower is better Severity28
1	Argentina	8.60	40.6
2	Bahamas	6.80
3	Barbados	8.70		.009
4	Belize	11.10		.017
5	Bolivia	22.50	44.0	.094
6	Brazil	10.90	53.3	.01629
7	Canada	4.60	34.0
8	Chile	6.30	46.6
9	Colombia	10.70	49.7	.020
10	Costa Rica	7.10	48.3
11	Cuba	5.10
12	Dominican Rep.	17.00	45.7	.015
13	Ecuador	11.50	44.7	.018
14	El Salvador	12.50	38.0	.032
15	Grenada	11.20
16	Guatemala	14.60	48.3	.134
17	Guyana	19.00		.014
18	Haiti	32.20	41.1	.200
19	Honduras	13.30	50.5	.090
20	Jamaica	10.00		.018
21	Mexico	10.50	43.4	.025
22	Nicaragua	13.10	46.2	.074
23	Panama	12.00	49.9
24	Paraguay	13.80	48.8	.019
25	Peru	10.80	43.3	.053
26	St Lucia	10.60	51.2	.007
27	St Vincent & Grenadines	11.30
28	Suriname	12.80		.041
29	Trinidad & Tobago	14.90		.002
30	USA	6.30	41.5
31	Uruguay	7.90	39.5
32	Venezuela	17.10
	The Americas Avg	12.03	45.2	.045
	World Avg	14.59	38.1	.154
q=32. No data: 2630

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 Rank16	Maths, Science & Reading (2015) Higher is better Score33	Religiosity (2018) Lower is better %34	IQ (2006) Higher is better35
1	Antigua & Barbuda			14.2	91
2	Argentina	0.5836	64.8%	17.9	75	140637	43	93
3	Bahamas		88.4%	12.9	114
4	Barbados		92.9%	15.7	35
5	Belize		78.6%	13.0	112
6	Bolivia	0.1638	58.8%	14.9	161		71	87
7	Brazil	1.1539	59.5%	15.6	109	1185	72	87
8	Canada	1.6140	100.0%	16.4	29	1571	27	99
9	Chile	0.3840	79.3%	16.7	74	1329	41	90
10	Colombia	0.0441	52.0%	14.4	78	1231	77	84
11	Costa Rica	0.4742	52.9%	16.5	76	1247	76	89
12	Cuba	0.4741	87.4%	14.4				85
13	Dominica			13.3	51
14	Dominican Rep.		56.6%	14.5	122	1018	78	82
15	Ecuador	0.3442	51.9%	14.6	139		76	88
16	El Salvador	0.0339	42.8%	12.7	121		85	80
17	Grenada			18.7	22
18	Guatemala	0.0439	37.8%	10.6	119		89	79
19	Guyana		63.3%	12.5	158
20	Haiti		33.2%	9.7	132			67
21	Honduras	0.0443	33.5%	10.1	136		90	81
22	Jamaica		66.3%	13.4	77			71
23	Mexico	0.5440	59.7%	14.9	95	1247	45	88
24	Nicaragua		47.5%	12.6	110		88	81
25	Panama	0.1842	72.2%	13.1	99		61	84
26	Paraguay	0.0939	47.8%	13.0	155		56	84
27	Peru	0.1044	62.2%	15.4	102	1182	73	85
28	St Kitts & Nevis			15.4
29	St Lucia		46.0%	12.9	54
30	St Vincent & Grenadines			14.7	97
31	Suriname		60.5%	13.0	134
32	Trinidad & Tobago	0.0539	73.4%	14.5	93	1269		85
33	USA	2.7436	95.6%	16.3	38	1463	53	98
34	Uruguay	0.2339	56.0%	16.8	135	1290	29	96
35	Venezuela		69.2%	12.8	149		67	84
36	Bermuda	0.2341
37	Puerto Rico	0.4441					77
	The Americas Avg	0.47	63.0%	14.2	99.8	1287	65.4	85.3
	World Avg	0.84	63.0%	13.5	82.0	1389	54.3	85.6
q=37. No data: 2145

Technology and Information:

Pos.		Internet Users (2016) Higher is better46	Internet Freedom (2012) Lower is better47	IT Security (2013) Lower is better48	IPv6 Uptake (2017) Higher is better Ratio49
1	Antigua & Barbuda	65%			0.0
2	Argentina	69%	26	0.27	1.4
3	Bahamas	85%			0.0
4	Barbados	80%			0.0
5	Belize	45%		0.11	0.0
6	Bolivia	41%			5.0
7	Brazil	66%	27	1.02	13.9
8	Canada	89%		0.96	18.3
9	Chile	78%		0.66	0.0
10	Colombia	57%		0.22	0.0
11	Costa Rica	56%			0.1
12	Cuba	32%	86		0.0
13	Dominica	66%			0.0
14	Dominican Rep.	52%			1.1
15	Ecuador	43%			18.2
16	El Salvador	38%			0.0
17	Grenada	39%			0.0
18	Guatemala	27%			6.9
19	Guyana	40%			0.0
20	Haiti	12%
21	Honduras	22%			0.0
22	Jamaica	43%			0.0
23	Mexico	45%	37	0.16	0.4
24	Nicaragua	19%			0.0
25	Panama	45%			0.1
26	Paraguay	47%			0.0
27	Peru	41%		0.30	18.3
28	St Kitts & Nevis	66%			0.6
29	St Lucia	59%			0.0
30	St Vincent & Grenadines	60%			0.0
31	Suriname	42%			0.0
32	Trinidad & Tobago	69%			14.5
33	USA	89%	12	3.68	35.0
34	Uruguay	65%			0.3
35	Venezuela	58%	48		0.0
36	Bermuda	97%			0.0
37	British Virgin Islands			1.08
38	Cayman Islands	74%			0.0
39	Puerto Rico	83%			0.2
40	US Virgin Islands	54%			0.0
41	Greenland	67%			0.0
42	Aruba	88%			0.0
	The Americas Avg	56.4%	39.3	0.84	3.36
	World Avg	48.1%	46.7	0.98	3.82
q=42. No data: 1650

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 Capita51	Fertility Rate (2013) 2.0 is best10	Smoking Rates (2014) Lower is better52	Suicide Rate (2013) Per 100k53	Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017) Lower is better Rank16	Overweight Adults (2016) Lower is better %54
1	Antigua & Barbuda	78.5	7.0		362		124	48.0
2	Argentina	75.4	9.8	2.18	1 359	15.6	122	62.7
3	Bahamas	71.6	4.4	1.88	301	2.5	155	64.4
4	Barbados	77.6	9.6	1.57	333	7.3	103	52.4
5	Belize	70.5	6.8	2.70	400	7.3	158	54.8
6	Bolivia	63.6	4.8	3.25	299		85	56.1
7	Brazil	72.8	7.8	1.80	492	9.7	40	56.5
8	Canada	82.7	8.9	1.69	1 154	22.7	8	64.1
9	Chile	78.9	9.3	1.84	930	22.4	91	63.1
10	Colombia	72.8	5.8	2.31	359	9.9	98	59.0
11	Costa Rica	77.0	4.8	1.81	432	12.1	110	61.6
12	Cuba	73.7	6.1	1.45	1 392	24.5		58.5
13	Dominica	72.8	8.2				111	60.3
14	Dominican Rep.	72.6	6.9	2.51	245	4.6	81	61.2
15	Ecuador	73.7	4.4	2.41	191	14.1	50	56.0
16	El Salvador	70.7	3.8	2.18	280	16.5	42	59.9
17	Grenada	74.9	9.3	2.18	224	0	133	51.4
18	Guatemala	69.2	2.5	3.86	190	7.3	77	55.9
19	Guyana	65.7	6.3	2.21	77	52.4	97	49.4
20	Haiti	63.2	5.8	3.19	114	0	115	54.9
21	Honduras	70.1	4.0	3.02	489		62	55.8
22	Jamaica	70.5	4.2	2.28	593		147	55.5
23	Mexico	70.2	6.5	2.25	329	8.5	45	64.9
24	Nicaragua	73.8	5.2	2.52	488	11.6	30	58.2
25	Panama	76.2	7.9	2.42	224	10.9	54	58.8
26	Paraguay	70.3	7.2	2.87	166	7.1	69	53.5
27	Peru	72.4	6.3	2.43	116	2.9	113	57.5
28	St Kitts & Nevis	71.7	9.4					52.3
29	St Lucia	71.1	9.9	1.93	232	4.9	151	48.1
30	St Vincent & Grenadines	69.6	8.2	2.01	338	7.3	162	55.0
31	Suriname	70.3	5.1	2.28	79	28.7	132	58.9
32	Trinidad & Tobago	73.0	8.4	1.63	97	21.7	152	46.0
33	USA	77.2	9.8	2.08	1 083	22.2	10	67.9
34	Uruguay	75.4	10.8	2.05	1 135	32.3	80	62.9
35	Venezuela	70.6	5.6	2.41	565	6.5	104	63.4
	The Americas Avg	72.58	6.9	2.29	457	13.57	94.3	57.4
	World Avg	71.28	6.2	2.81	819	20.93	82.0	49.0
q=35. No data: 2312

Children's Health:

Pos.		Adolescent Birth Rate (2015) Lower is better Per 100055	Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015) Higher is better Avg %56
1	Antigua & Barbuda	44.8	98.0
2	Argentina	63.8	93.7
3	Bahamas	29.6	96.2
4	Barbados	40.7	92.1
5	Belize	65.9	95.1
6	Bolivia	70.8	94.2
7	Brazil	67.0	96.7
8	Canada	9.8	85.2
9	Chile	47.8	93.3
10	Colombia	50.2	88.4
11	Costa Rica	56.5	88.5
12	Cuba	45.6	97.9
13	Dominica		97.1
14	Dominican Rep.	97.9	86.3
15	Ecuador	75.9	86.8
16	El Salvador	65.2	92.4
17	Grenada	30.5	95.2
18	Guatemala	80.7	85.2
19	Guyana	88.0	97.0
20	Haiti	39.3	65.7
21	Honduras	65.0	88.8
22	Jamaica	59.7	90.9
23	Mexico	62.8	91.6
24	Nicaragua	88.8	95.9
25	Panama	74.5	86.1
26	Paraguay	57.4	88.1
27	Peru	49.1	89.3
28	St Kitts & Nevis		96.3
29	St Lucia	53.9	98.2
30	St Vincent & Grenadines	51.0	97.2
31	Suriname	46.1	87.2
32	Trinidad & Tobago	31.5	91.4
33	USA	22.6	92.8
34	Uruguay	56.1	95.6
35	Venezuela	79.4	80.6
	The Americas Avg	56.6	91.3
	World Avg	47.9	88.3
q=35. No data: 2312

10. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#equality #gender_equality #human_rights #morals #politics #prejudice #The_Americas #tolerance

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2020)9,6
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank9,6
1	Canada	21.2
2	Uruguay	26.7
3	Costa Rica	36.7
4	Chile	40.1
5	Argentina	43.8
6	USA	47.4
7	Brazil	52.3
8	Bolivia	53.8
9	Peru	54.0
10	Mexico	56.6
	...
33	St Lucia	116.3
34	St Kitts & Nevis	123.4
35	Grenada	128.6
	The Americas Avg	74.2
	World Avg	87.7
q=35.

The Americas encompass countries that range widely on economic and democratic scales; from the well-developed to the politically anarchic; from the rich to the poor. It's far from the case that rich countries can afford to put more effort into human rights, tolerance and equality, compared with poor countries. Statistical analysis shows that these areas of development are largely a result of cultural factors and popular willpower, rather than wealth. The best countries in The Americas at protecting human rights, engendering tolerance and supporting equality, are Canada, Uruguay and Costa Rica. The worst countries are Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis and St Lucia.

For full commentary and data, see:

• The Americas: Which Countries are Best at Human Rights, Tolerance and Equality?

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 %57	Jews (2010) %58	Christians (2010) %58	Muslims (2010) %58	Hindus (2010) %58	Buddhists (2010) %58	Folk Religion (2010) %58	Unaffiliated (2010) %58
1	Antigua & Barbuda			0.1	93.0	0.6	0.2	0.1	3.6	1.7
2	Argentina	43	4	0.5	85.2	1.0	0.1	0.1	0.8	12.2
3	Bahamas			0.1	96.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.3	3.1
4	Barbados			0.1	95.2	1.0	0.4	0.1	0.1	1.9
5	Belize			1.0	87.6	0.1	0.2	0.5	1.5	8.9
6	Bolivia	71	1	0.1	93.9	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.9	4.1
7	Brazil	72	1	0.1	88.9	0.1	0.1	0.1	2.8	7.9
8	Canada	27	22	1.0	69.0	2.1	1.4	0.8	1.2	23.7
9	Chile	41	2	0.1	89.4	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.5	8.6
10	Colombia	77	1	0.1	92.5	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.8	6.6
11	Costa Rica	76	1	0.1	90.9	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.8	7.9
12	Cuba		40	0.1	59.2	0.1	0.2	0.1	17.4	23.0
13	Dominica			0.1	94.4	0.1	0.1	0.1	3.0	0.5
14	Dominican Rep.	78	7	0.1	88.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.9	10.9
15	Ecuador	76	1	0.1	94.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.3	5.5
16	El Salvador	85	1	0.1	88.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.5	11.0
17	Grenada			0.1	96.6	0.3	0.7	0.1	1.3	1.0
18	Guatemala	89	1	0.1	95.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.6	4.1
19	Guyana			0.1	66.0	6.4	24.9	0.1	0.2	2.0
20	Haiti		0	0.1	86.9	0.1	0.1	0.1	2.2	10.6
21	Honduras	90	1	0.1	87.6	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.1	10.5
22	Jamaica		3	0.1	77.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	4.5	17.2
23	Mexico	45	4	0.1	95.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	4.7
24	Nicaragua	88	1	0.1	85.8	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.4	12.5
25	Panama	61	1	0.4	93.0	0.7	0.1	0.2	0.4	4.8
26	Paraguay	56	1	0.1	96.9	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.7	1.1
27	Peru	73	1	0.1	95.5	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.0	3.0
28	St Kitts & Nevis			0.1	94.6	0.3	1.5	0.1	1.3	1.6
29	St Lucia			0.1	91.1	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.5	6.0
30	St Vincent & Grenadines			0.1	88.7	1.5	3.4	0.1	2.0	2.5
31	Suriname			0.2	51.6	15.2	19.8	0.6	5.3	5.4
32	Trinidad & Tobago		9	0.1	65.9	5.9	22.7	0.3	1.9	1.9
33	USA	53	10	1.8	78.3	0.9	0.6	1.2	0.2	16.4
34	Uruguay	29	12	0.3	57.9	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.8	40.7
35	Venezuela	67	1	0.1	89.3	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	10.0
36	St Pierre & Miquelon			0.1	94.7	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	3.8
37	Anguilla			0.1	90.6	0.3	0.4	0.1	2.9	4.0
38	Bermuda			0.3	75.0	1.1	0.1	0.5	3.0	19.4
39	British Virgin Islands			0.1	84.5	1.2	1.2	0.1	8.4	3.9
40	Cayman Islands			0.8	83.5	0.4	0.9	0.1	4.5	9.4
41	Falkland Islands			0.1	67.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	31.5
42	Montserrat			0.1	93.5	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	4.8
43	Turks & Caicos Islands			0.1	92.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	2.7	4.6
44	Puerto Rico	77		0.1	96.7	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.8	1.9
45	US Virgin Islands			0.3	94.8	0.1	0.4	0.1	0.1	3.7
46	Greenland			0.1	96.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.8	2.5
47	French Guiana			0.1	84.4	0.9	1.6	0.1	9.1	3.4
48	Guadeloupe			0.1	95.9	0.4	0.5	0.1	0.4	2.5
49	Martinique			0.1	96.5	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	2.3
50	Aruba			0.4	91.9	0.2	0.1	0.1	1.3	6.0
	The Americas Avg	65.4	5.3	0.2	86.7	0.9	1.7	0.2	2.0	7.9
	World Avg	54.3	9.9	0.5	60.6	22.4	2.0	3.5	2.7	7.9
q=50. No data: 859

Links:

• Compare to other regions of the world
• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?
• Human Religions