Which countries set the best examples to the rest of the world? Which ones would we do best to copy, to emulate and to admire for their foresight, hard work and long-term conscience? Which countries would have humanity survive gleaming into a clean, happy, bright future?
And who are tardy on humanitarian issues, science or development? Which nations and cultures cling to barbarian ethics on gender and sexual equality? Who is holding us back?
The Social and Moral Development Index is a compilation of relevant statistics on a wide range of issues which are put into a database-driven formula which calculates points per country. The country's overall score is an average of all the datasets that a country appears in. So, countries don't get penalized for lack of data about them.
The result is a shortlist of countries that beat all the others. Be the best!
| Overall Results: Best: Sweden, Norway, Denmark Regions: Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe2 Worst: Solomon Islands, Somalia, Tuvalu Regions: Melanesia, Micronesia and Australasia2 |
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Constituent Data Sets: Human Rights & Tolerance |
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1. Human Rights Watch Comments | Best: France, Germany, UK Worst: 10-country draw |
2. Nominal Commitment to HR | Best: Argentina, 12-country draw Worst: Kiribati, Bhutan, 4-country draw |
3. HR Treaties Lag | Best: Ecuador, Uruguay, Tunisia Worst: Palestine, Marshall Islands, Palau |
4. Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom | Best: Hong Kong, Switzerland, New Zealand Worst: Libya, Yemen, Iran |
5. Press Freedom | Best: Finland, Netherlands, Norway Worst: Eritrea, N. Korea, Turkmenistan |
6. Slavery | Best: Japan, Canada, Taiwan Worst: N. Korea, Eritrea, Burundi |
Constituent Data Sets: Gender Equality |
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7. Gender Inequality | Best: Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands Worst: Yemen, Niger, Chad |
8. Gender Biases | Best: Sweden, New Zealand, Australia Worst: Tajikistan, Qatar, Pakistan |
9. Year Women Can Vote | Best: New Zealand, Australia, Finland Worst: Saudi Arabia, Vatican City, Kuwait |
Constituent Data Sets: Prejudice |
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10. Anti-Semite Opinions | Best: Laos, Philippines, Sweden Worst: Iraq, Yemen, 2-country draw |
11. LGBT Equality | Best: Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden Worst: Syria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia |
12. Freedom of Thought | Best: Taiwan, Belgium, Netherlands Worst: 4-country draw |
> > > Details and Commentary on these data sets |
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| Overall Results: Best: Monaco, Hong Kong, Maldives Regions: Scandinavia, Asia and The Mediterranean3 Worst: Marshall Islands, S. Sudan, Palau Regions: Micronesia, Australasia and Africa3 |
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Constituent Data Sets: Health |
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1. Life Expectancy | Best: Monaco, Hong Kong, Japan Worst: Chad, Nigeria, Lesotho2010s: Monaco, Hong Kong, Japan, Lesotho, Chad, Nigeria 2000s: Monaco, Andorra, Japan, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe 1990s: Andorra, Japan, San Marino, S. Sudan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone |
2. Alcohol Consumption | Best: 5-country draw Worst: Moldova, Lithuania, Czechia |
3. Fertility Rate | Best: Hong Kong, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Malta Worst: Niger, Somalia, Zambia |
4. Smoking Rates | Best: Guinea, Solomon Islands, Kiribati Worst: Montenegro, Belarus, Lebanon |
5. Suicide Rate | Best: Grenada, Haiti, Egypt Worst: Lithuania, Russia, S. Korea |
6. Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance | Best: Sweden, Ireland, Denmark Worst: Angola, St Vincent & Grenadines, Mauritania |
7. Overweight Adults | Best: Vietnam, India, Bangladesh Worst: Nauru, Palau, Cook Islands |
Constituent Data Sets: Children's Health |
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8. Adolescent Birth Rate | Best: N. Korea, S. Korea, Switzerland Worst: Niger, Mali, Angola |
9. Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 | Best: China, Hungary, Uzbekistan Worst: Equatorial Guinea, S. Sudan, Somalia |
> > > Details and Commentary on these data sets |
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| Overall Results: Best: Japan, Philippines, Uruguay Regions: Scandinavia, South America and Central America Worst: Eritrea, Palestine, Gabon Regions: Baltic States, Micronesia and The Balkans |
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Constituent Data Sets: The Environment |
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1. Forest Area Change 2000-2020 | Best: Guernsey, Bahrain, Iceland Worst: Ivory Coast, Nicaragua, Gambia2010s: Burundi, Bahrain, Malta, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Cambodia 2000s: Guernsey, Iceland, Bahrain, Nicaragua, Ivory Coast, Gambia |
2. Environmental Performance | Best: Switzerland, France, Denmark Worst: Burundi, Bangladesh, Congo, DR |
3. Energy to GDP Efficiency | Best: Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Panama Worst: Serbia, Trinidad & Tobago, Zimbabwe |
4. Convention on Biological Diversity | Best: 30-country draw Worst: Vatican City, USA, Andorra |
5. Rational Beliefs on the Environment | Best: Argentina, Greece, Brazil Worst: Turkmenistan, Albania, Haiti |
6. Meat Consumption | Best: Congo, DR, Burundi, Bangladesh Worst: Hong Kong, USA, Nauru2010s: Burundi, Congo, DR, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Australia, USA |
7. Green Future Index | Best: Iceland, Finland, Norway Worst: Iran, Algeria, Zambia |
> > > Details and Commentary on these data sets |
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| Overall Results: Best: Finland, Taiwan, Switzerland Regions: Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe Worst: Eritrea, Sierra Leone, S. Sudan Regions: Melanesia, Africa and Micronesia |
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Constituent Data Sets: Modernity and Education |
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1. Research and Development | Best: S. Korea, Israel, Japan Worst: Lesotho, 3-country draw |
2. Secondary Education | Best: 6-country draw Worst: Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso |
3. Length of Schooling | Best: Australia, New Zealand, Greece Worst: S. Sudan, Niger, Mali2010s: Australia, Belgium, Iceland, S. Sudan, Niger, Djibouti 2000s: Australia, Belgium, Iceland, Niger, Djibouti, Burkina Faso 1990s: Australia, Canada, Belgium, Niger, Djibouti, Ethiopia |
4. Intellectual Endeavours | Best: Ukraine, Czechia, Hungary Worst: Angola, Iraq, Bolivia |
5. Maths, Science & Reading | Best: Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan Worst: Dominican Rep., Algeria, Kosovo |
6. Religiosity | Best: China, Estonia, Czechia Worst: Ethiopia, Senegal, 2-country draw |
7. IQ | Best: Singapore, Hong Kong, S. Korea Worst: 6-country draw |
Constituent Data Sets: Technology and Information |
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8. Internet Users | Best: Iceland, Faroe Islands, Norway Worst: Eritrea, Timor-Leste (E. Timor), Burundi |
9. Freedom On The Internet | Best: Estonia, USA, Germany Worst: Iran, Cuba, China |
10. IT Security | Best: Belize, Ireland, Luxembourg Worst: USA, Russia, India |
11. IPv6 Uptake | Best: Belgium, Germany, Switzerland Worst: 59-country draw |
> > > Details and Commentary on these data sets |
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Constituent Data Sets: National Culture |
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1. World Giving Index | Best: Indonesia, Kenya, USA Worst: Cambodia, Japan, 2-country draw2010s: Myanmar (Burma), USA, New Zealand, China, Greece, Yemen |
2. Corruption | Best: Denmark, Finland, New Zealand Worst: Somalia, S. Sudan, Syria2010s: Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Somalia, N. Korea, Afghanistan 2000s: Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Somalia, Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh 1990s: Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Honduras, Paraguay |
3. Happiness | Best: Finland, Norway, Denmark Worst: Burundi, Central African Rep., S. Sudan |
4. Creativity and Culture | Best: Belgium, Netherlands, Estonia Worst: Libya, Congo, DR, Rwanda |
5. Open Trading, Aid and Development | Best: Ireland, Denmark, Sweden Worst: Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Papua New Guinea |
Constituent Data Sets: Peace Versus Instability |
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6. Global Peace Index | Best: Iceland, Denmark, Ireland Worst: Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria2010s: Iceland, Denmark, Austria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia |
7. Peacekeeping and Security | Best: Samoa, S. Africa, Tunisia Worst: Guinea-Bissau, Marshall Islands, Tonga |
8. Refugees and UN Treaties | Best: Austria, Germany, Netherlands Worst: Brunei, Tonga, Fiji |
9. Impact of Terrorism | Best: 13-country draw Worst: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria |
Constituent Data Sets: Economic Inequality and Poverty |
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10. Inequality in Life Expectancy | Informational only |
11. Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) | Best: Ukraine, Belarus, Slovenia Worst: S. Africa, Namibia, Zambia |
12. Multidimensional Poverty | Best: Armenia, Ukraine, Serbia Worst: Niger, S. Sudan, Chad |
> > > Details and Commentary on these data sets |
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6. Results: All Countries From Best to Worst
For a complete list of results, see: What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life.
7. Methodology
The Social and Moral Development Index combines a large number of data sets into a single formula. It's not a simplistic ranking system - for most data sets, each country is given points according to where it sits on the scale ranging from the best country, to the worst country, on a scalar (and not linear) basis. The worst country in any given data set gets 0 points, and the best gets 100 points, and everyone else gets a portion of those points according to how close to the top they sit. It pays to be as good as possible. The points are not summed to form a total, because this would unfairly give advantages to countries that appear in most data sets - most data are not fully comprehensive. Each country gains a final score which is an average of its points from all datasets.
When it comes to presenting the results, charts show the best 5 countries marked with a green number, and the worst 5 marked with a red one. If there is a tie, then, the markers extend for as long as the tie continues. Sometimes the actual points are calculated to many significant figures, but, the results are only shown for 3 s.f. and in these cases, it might look like the flags do not extend enough. To view the data in more detail hover over any row to view the precise points awarded.