Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Nepal among top 20 countries in pace of prosperity

Though, Nepal ranks 90 – out of 149 countries – it is one of the top 20 countries in the world with fastest rising prosperity over the last 10 years, according to Legatum Prosperity Index (LPI).
In the overall Prosperity Index rankings, Nepal has dropped by 1 position from 89 to 90 compared to last year, it reports, adding, "Since the Prosperity Index began in 2006, Nepal has, however, moved up the rankings table by 24 places.
In the Prosperity Pillar rankings, Nepal performs best on Economic Quality and Personal Freedom and scores lowest on the Natural Environment pillar. The biggest positive change, compared to last year, came in Business Environment increasing by 25 places, whereas they dropped 4 places on Health.
Though, Nepal is a low income country, Nepal has witnessed a transition towards democracy – in the past 12 years after the Comprehensive Peace Accord of November 2006 – with the largest rises in the pillars of Personal Freedom, Business Environment, and Education.
Likewise, within Personal Freedom, the biggest changes have come from the increase in people reporting satisfaction with freedom, and social tolerance. This follows legal reforms, such as the anti-discrimination laws, which have been in effect since 2015. In fact, Nepal is the third highest scoring country in Asia-Pacific – after New Zealand and Australia – in the sub-pillar of Social Tolerance.
Nepal’s weakest pillar, however, is the deterioration of the natural environment with pressure on nature – in fact Nepal scores nearly at the bottom of the countries surveyed in terms of urban air pollution. There are also problems with labour market flexibility, anti-monopoly policies and health outcomes.
The measurement of national prosperity is an important task for governments and for those who hold them to account and Nepal exemplifies that Safety and Security is a foundation of any successful nation-building and enables other pillars to follow.
The Legatum Prosperity Index – that tracks prosperity in 149 countries – has also reported that global prosperity is at its highest level ever, more countries are becoming prosperous, and more people are living more prosperous lives.
The Index also shows that rising well being is linked to rising levels of prosperity. This might sound obvious, but there is a less clear relationship between wealth levels and well being, where rising wealth does not necessarily translate into greater happiness.
Prosperity entails much more than wealth, it reaches beyond the financial into the institutional, the judicial, and the well being of the people of a nation – it is about creating an environment where each citizen can reach full potential. A nation is prosperous when it has an open economy, inclusive society, strong institutions and empowered people who are healthy, educated and safe. This leads to higher levels of well being.
The top 20 rising countries have one thing in common that they all score highly for Safety and Security, one of the nine pillars used to measure prosperity and the key building block for prosperity.

Year Score change
2017 56.18 2.04 %
2016 55.06 0.12 %
2015 55.00 0.48 %
2014 54.73 0.03 %
2013 54.72 3.40 %
2012 52.92 2.51 %
2011 51.62 -0.72 %
2010 51.99 1.23 %
2009 51.36 -2.48 %
2008 52.67 3.07 %
2007 51.10

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