SA leads continent in prosperity
Thématique :
sud afrique
Friday, 24 October 2008
South Africa is the leading African country in this year's Legatum Prosperity Index, which analyses countries around the globe for their effectiveness in creating a climate conducive to prosperity.
More than 100 countries came under scrutiny, including 19 from Africa. Rankings are based on 22 key indicators and 44 sub-indicators.
The Legatum Prosperity Index goes beyond GDP as a measure of national prosperity. It investigates and gives details of personal and policy choices that can increase the prosperity of individuals and nations around the globe. Here the definition of prosperity encompasses both material wealth and quality of life.
"True prosperity consists of more than money," says Legatum's senior vice-president Dr William Inboden. "It also includes happiness, health, and liberty. The prosperity index shows that in addition to economic success, a society's prosperity is based on strong families and communities, political and religious liberty, education and opportunity, and a healthy environment."
The index is produced by the Legatum Institute, an independent policy, advocacy and advisory organisation, whose mission is to research and promote the principles that drive global prosperity. This is so that policymakers, individuals, academics, the media, and other relevant parties can better understand how prosperity is created and so implement steps towards its attainment.
Coming in at number 38 out of 104, South Africa shares its slot with Costa Rica and Poland. South Africa leads theAfrican continent in terms of drivers of economic and personal growth and well-being, followed by Botswana (45) and Namibia (55). These are also the only three African countries not ranked in the bottom quartile, an indication that the continent still faces many challenges.
Botswana was described as well-governed and in spite of severely high levels of HIV infection, has achieved one of the world's fastest rates of income growth, while Namibia was found to have no obvious weaknesses and one major strength, equality of opportunity.
Australia took the top spot, with Austria and Finland close behind. Yemen is last on the list, just ahead of Central African Republic, Mali and Zambia. These countries' unfavourable ranking, and others low down the order, is due mainly to extreme poverty while there are some, such as Zimbabwe, that are affected by political instability. Other factors include poor governance, low average life expectation, and high dependence on foreign aid.
For a detailed look at South Africa's score and for more on the survey visit www.prosperity.com
South Africa is the leading African country in this year's Legatum Prosperity Index, which analyses countries around the globe for their effectiveness in creating a climate conducive to prosperity.
More than 100 countries came under scrutiny, including 19 from Africa. Rankings are based on 22 key indicators and 44 sub-indicators.
The Legatum Prosperity Index goes beyond GDP as a measure of national prosperity. It investigates and gives details of personal and policy choices that can increase the prosperity of individuals and nations around the globe. Here the definition of prosperity encompasses both material wealth and quality of life.
"True prosperity consists of more than money," says Legatum's senior vice-president Dr William Inboden. "It also includes happiness, health, and liberty. The prosperity index shows that in addition to economic success, a society's prosperity is based on strong families and communities, political and religious liberty, education and opportunity, and a healthy environment."
The index is produced by the Legatum Institute, an independent policy, advocacy and advisory organisation, whose mission is to research and promote the principles that drive global prosperity. This is so that policymakers, individuals, academics, the media, and other relevant parties can better understand how prosperity is created and so implement steps towards its attainment.
Coming in at number 38 out of 104, South Africa shares its slot with Costa Rica and Poland. South Africa leads theAfrican continent in terms of drivers of economic and personal growth and well-being, followed by Botswana (45) and Namibia (55). These are also the only three African countries not ranked in the bottom quartile, an indication that the continent still faces many challenges.
Botswana was described as well-governed and in spite of severely high levels of HIV infection, has achieved one of the world's fastest rates of income growth, while Namibia was found to have no obvious weaknesses and one major strength, equality of opportunity.
Australia took the top spot, with Austria and Finland close behind. Yemen is last on the list, just ahead of Central African Republic, Mali and Zambia. These countries' unfavourable ranking, and others low down the order, is due mainly to extreme poverty while there are some, such as Zimbabwe, that are affected by political instability. Other factors include poor governance, low average life expectation, and high dependence on foreign aid.
For a detailed look at South Africa's score and for more on the survey visit www.prosperity.com
