Australia Rises to 3rd Place in Legatum Prosperity Index; Singapore Leads Economic Rankings; Japan 21st; China 52nd

LONDON, November 8, 2011 -

A new study ranks Australia 3^rd and New Zealand 4^th out of 110 countries in a worldwide assessment of wealth and quality of life. Norway and Denmark lead the rankings. For the first time this year, a non-Western country leads the Economy sub-index, with Singapore claiming 1^st place ahead of Norway and Switzerland.

The Legatum Prosperity Index™ (www.prosperity.com) provides the world’s only global assessment of national prosperity based on both wealth and well-being. The Index assesses 110 countries (accounting for over 93% of the world’s population and 97% of the world’s GDP) and ranks them based on their performance in eight sub-indices, including Economy, Governance, Personal Freedom, and Social Capital.

“We want to assess the long term drivers of prosperity,” said Jeffrey Gedmin, President and CEO of the Legatum Institute. “The Prosperity Index is designed to be a practical tool for researchers, policy makers, media, and the interested public. We hope this year’s findings will contribute to the conversation about what makes societies healthy and successful.”

Australia finds itself on the Prosperity Index podium for the first time and is top placed in the Asia-Pacific region, ahead of New Zealand (4^th) and the ‘Asian tigers’ (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea) and Japan, all of which are in the top 30. Of these countries, South Korea has experienced the largest improvement, moving from 29th in 2009 to 24th in 2011.

Top 5 (Asia-Pacific)
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
16. Singapore
20. Taiwan
21. Japan

Bottom 5 (Asia-Pacific)
91. India
93. Nepal
94. Cambodia
95. Bangladesh
107. Pakistan

Australia and New Zealand lead the world on the Education sub-index, which measures countries’ performance in three areas: access to education, quality of education, and human capital, and is a key indicator for sustained economic growth and personal satisfaction.

For the first time this year, a non-Western country leads the Economy sub-index, with Singapore claiming 1st place ahead of Norway and Switzerland. The Economy sub-index looks at four areas that are essential to promoting national prosperity: macroeconomic policies, economic satisfaction and expectations, foundations for growth, and financial sector efficiency. China rose 14 places from 24th to 10th on this measure.

Read the full press release here.

Julian Knapp, Communications Director, Legatum Institute: +44-7557-97-1210 or at julian.knapp at li.com