GOVERNMENTS, BUSINESSES & NGOS URGED TO INVEST IN SOCIAL PROGRESS TO “UNLEASH ECONOMIC SUCCESS”
April 9, 2015
Social Progress Imperative and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global)
– Inclusive growth must be focused on delivering economic + social progress
– World earns “a failing grade” on progress say experts
– Norway ranks top in this year’s Index, Canada is top of G7; Brazil is the top BRIC nation

The most effective way to improve people’s quality of life across the world, in both rich and poor countries, is to invest in social progress. This is according to the Social Progress Index 2015 published today by US-based nonprofit, the Social Progress Imperative, and released at the 2015 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. The Index, ranked 133 countries based on their social and environmental performance and, including countries for which partial data was found, measured the social progress of 99% of the world’s population – using 52 separate indicators to arrive at a ranking for the issues that matter most to people.

The Index found that the world performs strongest in the areas of ‘nutrition’ and ‘basic medical care’ but weakest in ‘access to advanced education’ and ‘ecosystem sustainability’. The findings also show that many aspects of social progress improve with income. Wealthier countries, such as Norway – which achieves the top ranking this year – generally deliver better social outcomes than lower income countries.

But researchers say that GDP is far from being the sole determinant of social progress.
“Inclusive growth requires achieving both economic and social progress. A striking finding is that GDP is far from being the sole determinant of social progress. The pitfalls of focusing on GDP alone are evident in the findings of the 2015 Social Progress Index,” Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, who chairs the Index’s Advisory Board, said. “Countries must invest in social progress, not just economic institutions, to create the proper foundation for economic growth.”

Costa Rica (28th ranking) with a GDP per capita of $13,431 achieves a much higher level of social progress than both Italy and South Korea, which have more than twice Costa Rica’s GDP per capita ($34,167 and $32,708 respectively). On the other hand the US, with a GDP per capita of $51,340, scores relatively poorly across many of the components measured by the Index, including on ‘health and wellness’, finishing behind countries with a lower GDP per capita including Canada (6th) and the UK (11th).

Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, said: “This year’s Social Progress Index reported the world’s progress, rolling up the collective results from 133 countries. Sadly, as a whole, the world earned a failing grade, ranking in the bottom 40 percent of countries. Of particular concern is the world’s performance on ‘opportunity’, which very closely correlates to personal well-being. This is a wake-up call rich and poor countries alike should heed!”