Ranking of Countries by Prosperity

[jingjai]

Thailand comes in at #44: http://www.prosperity.com/rankings.aspx

Countries' Ranking Based on...
Health, Wealth, Prosperity,
DEMOCRACY in the Country,
FREEDOM of EXPRESSION.
Happiness and Quality of Life.
# 1. Finland.
# 2. Switzerland.
# 3. Sweden.
# 4. Denmark.
# 5. Norway.
# 6. Australia.
# 7. Canada.
# 8. Netherland.
# 9. USA.
#10. New Zealand.
# 11. Ireland.
# 12. UK.
# 45. India.
# 95. Kenya.
# 97 Tanzania.
# 99. Pakistan.
The Last # 124. Ethiopia.
Want Prosperity?
Index Ranks Finland as Place to Be # 1.
Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:42am IST

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) -
For those who value their freedom of expression as much as health, wealth, and prosperity,
then Finland is the place to be, with an index ranking the Nordic nation the best in the world.
The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, published on Tuesday and compiled
by the Legatum Institute, an independent policy, advocacy and advisory organization,
ranked 104 countries which are home to 90 percent of the world's population.
The index is based on a definition of prosperity that combines economic growth
with the level of personal freedoms and democracy in a country
as well as measures of happiness and quality of life.
With the exception of Switzerland, which came in at number 2,
Nordic countries dominated the top 5 slots,
with Sweden in third place followed by Denmark and Norway.
The top 10 were all also Western nations,
with Australia (6th place) and
Canada (7th place)
both beating the United States, ranked 9th.
Britain came in at number 12.
In Asia, Japan was the region's highest ranked country at number 16,
followed by Hong Kong (18th place) and
Singapore (23rd place) and Taiwan (24th place).
Dr. William Inboden, senior vice president of the Legatum Institute,
said the lower rankings for Asian nations were largely due to
their weak scores for democracy and personal freedoms.
"Many Asian nations have good economic fundamentals,
but the Index tells us that true prosperity requires more than just money,"
Inboden said in a statement.
"Democratic institutions and personal freedom measures
are letting some Asian nations down.
Furthermore, countries which have low levels of economic stability,
such as Cambodia, finish even further down in the overall rankings."
Cambodia came in the 93rd slot while
China, with its tight political controls, came in 75th despite booming economic growth.
And the world's least prosperous country?
According to the Legatum Index,
it is Zimbabwe, with Sudan and Yemen close runners-up.
The index combines objective data and subjective responses to surveys.

More details can be found on: http://www.prosperity.com/

[jackspratt]

To save looking it up, Thailand seems to come in at 44.

http://www.prosperity.com/country.aspx?id=TH

[Laan Yaa Mo]

With the exception of Malaysia, Thailand comes ahead of the other Southeast Asian nations Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. But where are Laos and Burma on this list? I forgot about Brunei too.

Khun Spratt, you must be still crying over the New York Yankee's victory because your post does not really add anything to that of jingjai.

[jackspratt]

You are correct Tilo.

I missed the first line in the OP - must have been having a Leo moment

As for your other observation - I have already stated I do not comment on bad news

Bl00dy Yanks

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Never mind, it can happen to anyone.

Well, for the next few days...let the bad news roll.

My feeling is that this might be the last pennant for the Yanks for awhile as Rivera, Matsui, Jeter, Petit and others are getting a bit long in tooth to match the years of that great Canadian, who played so well for the Phillies - Matt Stairs.

[jingjai]

But where are Laos and Burma on this list? I forgot about Brunei too.

If you read what the Legathum Prosperity Index definition of prosperity is:

The index is based on a definition of prosperity that combines economic growth
with the level of personal freedoms and democracy in a country
as well as measures of happiness and quality of life.

Remember, they only listed the top 104 countries.
To be honest, I feel a little embarrassed at the moment . I didn't think there were more than 104 countries in the world. After 10 years...I must be turning Thai.

[laphanphon]

I didn't think there were more than 104 countries in the world

curious myself now, the UN only list 195, possibly because members, not sure, the CIA world factbook list 266, but i did notice a few while counting thru the list that wouldn't qualify as country, like, pasific ocean, hong kong, taiwan, euro union, along with all europe countries, so bit of a dupe there, but if 10 % are BS, that still leave a lot. wike list approx 211............my ignorance is showing also.

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o ... continents

[jingjai]

It's almost serendipitous that I received a Geography Trivia e-mail today.
So let's not forget:

"The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is."

And also:

"The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin , Ireland ; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy ; and..."

Which of our members said: "Americans don't know anything about real pizza or Italian food"? It's somewhere buried in the archives of Udonmap.