International Study Ranks Malta At 8th In Social Issues, 90th For The Environment
A new international study that ranks countries based on their prosperity (which focuses on wellbeing as much as it does on wealth) sees Malta take 24th place overall after combining the individual rankings of the nine separate areas of study. Malta’s prosperity score ranks it above our southern European neighbours of Greece, Italy, and Portugal, but below France and Spain.
Here’s how Malta fared in each category:
1. Economic Quality: 33rd
Taking financial sector efficiency, economic opportunity and openness of the economy, Malta placed 33rd, with overall global leader New Zealand taking 1st place here.
2. Business Environment: 73rd
This sub-index focuses on a country’s entrepreneurial environment and labour market flexibility. The global leader in this area is the USA (which ranked 17th overall).
3. Governance: 21st
Rule of law, political participation and effective governance were the key factors here, which is why it’s unsurprising that Finland placed first.
4. Education: 42nd
It’s not just about access to education, but rather the quality of it and the human capital behind it. Switzerland leads the way in this particular sub-index.
5. Health: 18th
Our first ‘top 20’, the health sub-index is measured by basic physical and mental health, infrastructure and preventative care. Luxemburg are the world’s leaders when it comes to health.
6. Safety and Security: 17th
We always go on about how safe Malta is when compared to other countries. This list took national security as well as personal safety into account, and Singapore (which ranks 19th overall) came out on top.
Photo: John Haslam
7. Personal freedom: 17th
Progress when it comes to basic legal rights, individual freedoms and social tolerance were the units of measure of this index, and Luxemburg clinched the number one spot once again.
8. Social Capital: 8th
Our highest score on the listings, the social capital sub-index measures strength of personal relationships, support within our social networks and civic participation in a country. New Zealand takes the number one spot here, but we’re ahead of countries such as Germany and the UK.
9. Natural Environment: 90th
Following our 8th-place-high, we have our worst score… and unsurprisingly it’s in environmental issues. This index measured the quality of the natural environment, the pressures we’re exerting on it, and the efforts (or lack thereof) being done to conserve it. “Pressure on Malta’s environmental quality continues to build, as the newly formed Planning Authority pursues a policy of more intensive land use and urbanisation.”
Photo: Joshua Zader
You can read the full study here.