Ranking of Most Prosperous Countries 2019 in Legatum Prosperity Index

The annual report prepared by the Legatum Institute places the Nordic country at the top of a select group including Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Luxembourg and Iceland.

At the opposite end of the list is South Sudan, which closes the list of 167 countries, behind Yemen, the Central African Republic, Chad, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, Burundi and Sudan.

In Latin America, Chile ranks 37, followed by Costa Rica and Uruguay, while Cuba, El Salvador and Guatemala are ranked 97, 98 and 99, respectively; and Venezuela appears as the least prosperous in the entire region (143).

The Asian continent is led by Hong Kong, under a special administration regime of China in 15th place, followed by Singapore in 16th, ahead of Japan (19), and even the United States (18).

The Legatum Institute considers, however, that global prosperity reached its highest level in the last decade, as a result of greater openness of the economies and improvements in health, education and living conditions.

Director of the Legatum Institute Philippa Stroud warned that the Prosperity Index measures, among other factors, security, personal freedom, governance and social capital, as well as the environment for investments, market access, living conditions, health and education.

 

As for Southeast Asian countries, here's the ranking:

16. Singapore

41. Malaysia

63. Indonesia

66. Thailand

84. Philippines

85. Vietnam

116. Laos

112. Cambodia

 

A total of 12 pillars are covered in the prosperity index, including “safety and security”, “personal freedom”, “governance”, “social capital”, “living conditions”, “health”, “education” and “natural environment”. Complete ranking here.