Which are the Countries for International Contributions, Creativity, Peace and Inequality?

This is the final pillar of the Social and Moral Development Index; it has 22 datasets, including multiple decades of data on World Giving Index, resisting corruption, overall happiness, Creativity and Culture, Open Trading, Aid and Development, its Global Peace Index rating, Peacekeeping and Security, Refugees and UN Treaties, the impact of terrorism, Inequality in Life Expectancy, Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) and Multidimensional Poverty.

1. The Criteria: National Culture
2. Overall Results by Country
3. Overall Results by Region
4. The Social and Moral Development Index
5. Compare with the UN's Human Development Index
6. Links

1. The Criteria: National Culture

1.1. World Giving Index

#charity #finland #morals #norway #politics #sweden

The World Giving Index is produced annually by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). It produces statistical counts of individual charitable acts in three categories: the helping of strangers, donations to charity and volunteer work. The system is biased towards grassroots-charitability and because of this, it is not wise to draw moral conclusions from the data. Some countries have a top-down approach to social aid. For example, in highly socialist countries such as Finland, Norway and Sweden, the government itself is paid by citizens (through very high taxes) to engage in a lot of social work. Therefore, there is a culture in which individuals feel they already contribute to charity through a centralized and well-funded charitable social safety net: but this kind of contribution isn't reflected in the WGI. Some of those countries do score highest in measurements of how much aid is given to developing countries. Conversely, some of the lowest-ranking countries are clearly suffering from extreme poverty, and may lack the infrastructure that lets people volunteer time or give to charity.

For more, see:

• "Charity Across the World" by Vexen Crabtree (2023).

World Giving Index By Global Region:

1.2. Corruption

#1990s #2000s #2010s #corruption #democracy #multinationals #organized_crime #politics

Corruption is the abuse of public office for private gain₄. There are many forms of corruption. Politicians can sometimes (1) steal money (theft or embezzlement), (2) accept bribes (such as backhanders for awarding government contracts to companies), (3) give bribes (i.e., for electoral support or support in the mass media), (4) improperly coerce others (extortion), (5) give positions of power to friends and family without fairly seeking other applicants for those jobs (cronyism), or (6) grant favours to friends and family (nepotism) such as buying services from them at inflated prices (graft).

Corruption benefits organized crime₅, multinational companies that exploit legal loopholes between countries₆, and the rich and powerful₇; this comes at the expense of national stability, peace and security₅. The presence of corrupt politicians has been weaponized by those who seek to undermine democratic countries₈. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index₉, the least corrupt countries in 2022 were Denmark, Finland and New Zealand₃ and the worst were Somalia, S. Sudan and Syria₃.

For more, see:

• "Corruption - The Abuse of Power by Politicians" by Vexen Crabtree (2023).

Corruption By Global Region:

1.3. Happiness

#happiness #human_development

Studying happiness is difficult and people tend to overstate their own happiness - in particular those who are aware of international studies of happiness and want to portray their country in a good light. It is also especially overstated by religious folk who are institutionalized into repeating the story of 'how happy my religion makes me'₁₂.

Currently the happiest countries are Finland, Denmark and Iceland₁₀. The most unhappy are Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Lebanon₁₀. In the previous decade (the 2010s), they were Denmark, Finland and Norway₁₁ (happiest) and S. Sudan, Central African Rep. and Burundi₁₁ (unhappiest). The unhappiest continent is Africa, by a wide margin.

It is of course true that the happiest people are not those who are necessarily leading the best lives. Excess, indulgence and short-term policy can all lead to a high rating on this chart; things like living morally and frugally, for example, do not automatically go hand in hand with happiness even though they are virtues. But by comparing national happiness to overall development via the Social And Moral index score; we see that overall national development is strongly correlated to average happiness. In other words, the key to making a population happy in the long term is the embracing of liberal democratic values, human rights, tolerance, good education, and a strong social net (which are the factors which cause high rankings on the Social & Moral index).

For more, see:

• " International Happiness: Which Countries and Regions are Most Happy?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Happiness By Global Region:

1.4. Creativity and Culture

The Good Country Index Contributions to Culture data includes exports of creative goods and creative services relative to the size of the economy, UNESCO dues in arrears as percentage of contribution (negative indicator) and the number of countries and territories that citizens can freely enter without a visa.

1. Creative goods exports: Exports of creative goods (UNCTAD's Creative Economy Report categorisation) relative to the size of the economy.

2. Creative services exports: Exports of creative services (according to ITC's "trade in services" categories 10 and 11) relative to the size of the economy.

3. UNESCO dues in arrears as % of contribution: UNESCO dues in arrears as percentage of contribution (negative indicator).

4. Freedom of movement, i.e. visa restrictions: Number of countries and territories that citizens can enter without a visa (according to Henley & Partners).

5. Press freedom: Freedom of the press (based on mean score for Reporters without Borders and Freedom House index as a negative indicator).

The last one is duplicated as press freedom is already included in SAMDI, therefore, in future editions this data will be weighted at 4/5.

Creativity and Culture By Global Region:

1.5. Open Trading, Aid and Development

The Good Country Index gauges how well countries are doing in helping international development; their index includes data on open trading across borders, and, relative to the size of the economy: number of aid workers and volunteers sent overseas according to UN, fairtrade market size, global foreign direct investment outflow and development cooperation contributions.

1. Open trading: Trading across borders (open trading performance compared to best practice; i.e. IFC distance to frontier).

2. UN volunteers abroad: Number of aid workers and volunteers sent overseas (according to UNV) relative to the size of the economy.

3. Fairtrade market size: Fairtrade market size (according to Fairtrade International) relative to the size of the economy.

4. FDI outflows: FDI outflow (according to UNCTAD) relative to the size of the economy.

5. Development assistance: Development cooperation contributions (aid according to Development Initiatives) relative to the size of the economy.

Open Trading, Aid and Development By Global Region:

1.6. Global Peace Index

#2010s #human_development #peace #politics

The Global Peace Index is produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace, and is "the world's leading study on global levels of peacefulness"; it ranks nations using over 20 "qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, which gauge three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society; the extent of domestic or international conflict; and the degree of militarisation. [The IEP] hopes to make a valuable contribution to better understanding how civil society, researchers, policymakers, and government can create a more peaceful society"₁₄. The most peaceable countries in the world are Iceland, Denmark and Ireland₁₄ and the worst are Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria₁₄.

“The Dalai Lama said that he hoped the index would encourage countries to strive for peace. "Compiling and maintaining an index of which countries are the most peaceful and publishing the results will undoubtedly make the factors and qualities that contribute to that status better known and will encourage people to foster them in their own countries," he said.”

The Guardian (2007)₁₆

Despite the positive appeal of the Global Peace Index, it is imperfect and as with all international statistics, some countries appear to have a natural advantage. In this case, it is small countries which exist inside regional blocs: Denmark or Switzerland without stepping on the toes of many other countries which have sturdy militaries, so there is less incentive for those countries to invest in defence. Although note that of course defence spending is only one of the many factors considered by the GPI, it is easy to imagine that a country such as Israel (151st), surrounded by aggressive neighbours, could never score well on this index.

Global Peace Index By Global Region:

1.7. Peacekeeping and Security

The Good Country Index gauges how well countries are doing in helping maintain international peace and security, taking into account the number of peacekeeping troops sent overseas for UN missions relative to the size of the economy, dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets as % of contribution (negative indicator), number of casualties of international organised violence relative to the size of the economy (negative indicator), arms and ammunition exports (negative indicator) and global cybersecurity index score.

1. Peacekeeping troops: Number of peacekeeping troops sent overseas for UN missions, relative to the size of the economy.

2. Dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets as % of contribution: Dues in arrears to financial contribution to UN peacekeeping missions as percentage of contribution (negative indicator).

3. International violent conflict: Attributed number of casualties of international organised violence (number of casualties per conflict divided by the number of countries involved according to UCDP/PRIO) relative to the size of the economy (negative indicator).

4. Arms exports: Exports of weapons and ammunition (according to ITC) relative to the size of the economy (negative indicator).

5. Internet security: Global Cybersecurity Index score (according to ITU).

Peacekeeping and Security By Global Region:

1.8. Refugees and UN Treaties

The Good Country Index gauges how well countries are doing in helping international development, taking into account percentage of population that gives to charity (according to Charities Aid Foundation), number of refugees hosted relative to the size of the economy, number of refugees overseas relative to the size of the population (negative indicator), birth rate (negative indicator) and the number of UN treaties signed (up to 2014).

1. Charity giving: Percentage of population that gives to charity (according to Charities Aid Foundation) as proxy for cosmopolitan attitude.

2. Refugees hosted: Number of refugees hosted (according to UNHCR) relative to the size of the economy.

3. Refugees generated: Number of refugees overseas (according to UNHCR) relative to the size of the population (negative indicator).

4. Birth rate: Population birth rate (according to World Bank as negative indicator).

5. UN Treaties signed: Number of UN treaties signed (up to 2014) as proxy for diplomatic action and peaceful conflict resolution.

Note that charitable giving is already included in SAMDI via the World Giving Index and birth rates are arleady covered in SAMDI Health Policies data, therefore, in future editions this GC data series will be weighted at 3/5.

Refugees and UN Treaties By Global Region:

1.9. Impact of Terrorism

#extremism #politics #religious_violence #terrorism

The Institute for Economics & Peace scores each country on a combination of a five year weighted average of total number of deaths due to terrorism and its impact₁₈.

Impact of Terrorism By Global Region:

1.10. Inequality in Life Expectancy

#health #inequality #life_expectancy

Inequality in Life Expectancy By Global Region:

1.11. Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient)

#1980s #1990s #2000s #2010s #capitalism #economics #inequality #social_development

The Gini coefficient measures the imbalance amongst incomes in a country; lower scores are better. 100% is absolute and universal inequality, and 0% means that incomes are distributed equally between people₂₀. It doesn't factor-in standing wealth (just income), so its not a comprehensive indicator of all inequality. By averaging countries' results by continent, you can see the best regions: Europe (30.8%), Asia (33.0%) and The Middle East (33.3%)₂₀; and also the worst: South America (44.2%), North America (43.8%) and Africa (40.7%)₂₀.

For more, see:

• "Economic Inequality" by Vexen Crabtree (2024).

Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) By Global Region:

1.12. Multidimensional Poverty

#capitalism #economics #inequality #poverty #social_development

The Multidimensional Poverty Index is the United Nation's presentation of data on a wide range of factors, in additional to basic income it also includes access to clean water, nutrition and housing. The index is a count of the percentage of the population that are deprived across multiple fields, adjusted by the intensity of the poverty₃₅. The countries at the bottom of this index are Armenia (.001), Ukraine (.001) and Serbia (.001)₃₅; portions of their populations are truly living horrifically impoverished lives.

For more, see:

• "Economic Inequality" by Vexen Crabtree (2024).

Multidimensional Poverty By Global Region:

2. Overall Results by Country

#charitability #culture #human_development #peace

The overall scores are simply an average of each countries' position in all of the data sets that make up this category. Countries only receive a ranking if they have at least 6 different data points across the data sets. The overall results for each country are listed alongside their position in the Social and Moral Development Index.

3. Overall Results by Region

#capitalism #charitability #charity #corruption #culture #economics #extremism #happiness #health #human_development #inequality #life_expectancy #morals #peace #politics #poverty #religious_violence #social_development #terrorism

The table here shows overall results for this category, compared with each region's average score on the Social and Moral Development Index. Regional values are calculated as an average of national results, not by total regional population. The tables below show results for each data set for each region.

National Culture Data Sets by Region:

Peace Versus Instability Data Sets by Region:

Economic Inequality and Poverty Data Sets by Region:

4. The Social and Moral Development Index

The data sets form part of the calculations for the Human Truth Foundation's Social and Moral Development Index.

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.

5. Compare with the UN's Human Development Index

#canada #human_development #iceland #norway

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others.

Norway has been the top of this list since ousting Canada in 2001 (except in 2007 and 2008 when Iceland made it to the top).

This data series is only here for informational reasons, meaning, it does not form part of the Social and Moral Development Index formula. This is because the UN HDI takes into account many factors (such as wealth) that are not social or moral in nature, and, the bulk of the social-and-moral-development data is already included in SAMDI.

Links:

• UN Development Program: About the Human Development Index