If the United Nations gave out MVP trophies for entire countries, Sweden would win hands-down.
According to a new report called the “Good Country Index,” which ranked 163 countries by their contributions to the global community, Sweden takes the top spot overall. In individual categories, the tiny Nordic scored first in measures of Prosperity & Equality and Health & Wellbeing.
“Sweden must be bored of coming top in every bloody country index but that’s the fact of the matter,” Simon Anholt, an independent policy advisor and the Index’s creator, told The Local.As Anholt suggests, Sweden is no stranger to topping lists of innovative countries. Last September, for instance, it ranked third in the Global Innovation Index, most notably for its elite research universities. Within the last four years, it has never fallen outside the top three.
To compile the Good Country Index, Anholt created 35 separate categories that he eventually distilled into seven big buckets: Science & Technology, Culture, International Peace & Security, World Order, Planet & Climate, Prosperity & Equality, and Health & Wellbeing.
The data came from sources like the United Nations and the World Bank, the Local reports.
Sweden’s dominance in the equality and wellbeing categories stems from its insistence on human rights for all, both stateside and abroad. Sweden’s parental leave policy, for instance, is one of the most generous in the world — new moms and dads take 480 days, 90 of which are reserved for fathers only as a way to promote bonding.
It also frequently sends its own doctors to help with health crises in other countries and provide aid during pandemics.
Given its heavy arms exports and refugee-related conflicts, however, Sweden’s lowest-performing categories were International Peace & Security, where it placed 52nd, and World Order, where it came in at 11th.
Those kinds of insights are precisely what Anholt says he wanted to illuminate. Instead of competing against one another, he’d like countries to see the report as an incentive to cooperate.
A country with strong social innovation like Sweden could teach the US, which ranked 46th in Prosperity & Equality and 12th in Health & Wellbeing, a thing or two about making people’s live easier. Meanwhile, a country like South Africa, which ranked first in International Peace & Security, could steer a country like Sweden away from relying on selling weapons to boost its economy.
The United States came in 21st. Its strongest category was Health & Wellbeing, for which it came in 12th out of 163, but even with the admirable ranking Sweden beat out the US in every category.
Maybe it’s finally time to pack our bags and become do-gooder Swedes.
The top 5:
1. Sweden
2. Denmark
3. The Netherlands
4. United Kingdom
5. Germany
The bottom 5:
159. Iraq
160. Central African Republic
161. Mauritania
162. Ecuatorial Guinea
163. Libya
Source: Chris Weller, Business Insider
Tonight Swden won the first leg against Italy 1-0 at the Friends Arena in 2017 World Cup CUP Qualifing Play Play Off for a place in the Championship in Russia next summer.
The only goal coming when Jakob Johansson drilled home from 20 yards, via a Daniele de Rossi deflection.Sweden was the better team in the first half, and while the Azzurri slightly improved after the break, they were still disappointing.
Sweden who finished above the Netherlands to seal their play-off spot – looked up for the game from the very first whistle. The return game is played at San Siro in Milan on Monday 13.
I am back in Brasilia for the last workshop of AEO Brazil Project. This is the 4th year of the project and we are this time having a discussion on how risk management, AEO and PCA can work together to improve all parts of the Federal Revenue Agency (Receita Federal) business.
I am very impressed about how Receita Federal has implemented the AEO Brazil programme. It is one of the best, most modern and innovative programmes in the world and on the first day of the worlshop it was great to hear how programme is evolving.
Thisbis journey we started a long time ago and we are now starting to see the results in better processes and real benefits for companies.
There is a maturity in the management and the AEO team that is very promising for the future.
The new Risk Management project is also a very good initiative. In combination with AEO Brazil and the Single Window, it will increase the position of Brazil in international indexes, like World Bank Doing Business Review and World Economic Forums, Göobal Competitiveness Index.
I am very happy for having being involved in the design, development and implementation of this state-of-the-art AEO programme. AEO Brazil is changing Brazil for the better.
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