Sweden – best country in the world, India ranks 70th

Best Country in world – Published  in the New Indian Express, 04th June 2016

(Note:  Man is not to be measured by foot rule, it is said. This is also true with countries. It is not the geographical area or the size of the people of a country that matters. If that  were the criterion India would rank second after China. As Martin Luther King once said man is to be measured not by the color of his skin but the content of his character. When measured by the goodness and nobility of the character of a nation, just think of it, we Indians with long religious tradition and rich philosophical insight we boast of came only 70^th among 163 nations analysed and Sweden a small country came first, according to “Good Country 2015” index. Can you imagine India is the worst (124th) in 'prosperity and equality'. Whom are we to believe: Modi’s  “Achee Din” in India or world’s good country index? james kottoor, editor)

LONDON: Sweden has been voted as the best country in the world when it comes to serving the interests of its people and contributing to the common good of humanity while India figured low at 70th position on a list of 163 nations.

According to the 'Good Country' 2015 index which seeks to measure how countries contribute to the global good, Sweden, relative to the size of its economy, does more "good" and less harm than any other country. The report ranked a total of 163 countries taking 35 different UN and World Bank indices into account, including global contributions to science, culture, peace and security, climate change and health and equality.

The top 10 best countries included Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Finland, Canada, France, Austria and New Zealand, whereas Libya was ranked as the least "good" country in the world. India figured at 70th position overall, three places below China, with the best ranking (27th) in 'international peace and security' and the worst (124th) in 'prosperity and equality'.

While the country stood at 37th position in health and wellbeing and 62nd in science and technology, it was ranked 119th in culture, 106th in climate and 100th in world order. "The Good Country Index is pretty simple: to measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size," the report said.

The biannual index was founded by Simon Anholt, a British government adviser whose aim is "to find ways of encouraging countries to collaborate and co-operate a lot more, and compete a bit less".