For almost a century, experts have mostly used financial data to measure countries’ progress. But about 10 years ago, an international group of economists came up with a different way to judge nations’ success. They created the Social Progress Index, a measure of how well countries meet their peoples’ needs.
The idea was pretty simple, explains Michael Green, who leads the project. “Let’s measure people’s real lived experience, based on the real things that matter to real people,” Green says. “Am I living in a good society where everyone has enough to eat, everyone is safe, everyone gets a decent education?”
The index is put together by the Social Progress Imperative, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C. Country rankings are based on 50 indicators of well-being, including health, safety, freedom, and education.
In 2020, Norway scored the highest overall, with 92.73 points out of a possible 100. South Sudan ranked lowest, with 31.06 points. The U.S. came in 28th, with 85.71 points—still toward the top of the 163-country list, but behind some much poorer nations.
Economists say the U.S. can improve its standing in the future—155 countries have raised their scores in the past decade. Here’s a look at how nations stacked up in 2020 overall (see map, above) and in individual categories (below).