Social Progress Index

The index combines three dimensions

1. Basic human needs
2. Foundations of well-being
3. Opportunity

Each dimension includes four components, which are each composed of between three and five specific outcome indicators. The included indicators are selected because they are measured appropriately, with a consistent methodology, by the same organization across all (or essentially all) of the countries in the sample. Together, this framework aims to capture a broad range of interrelated factors revealed by the scholarly literature and practitioner experience as underpinning social progress.

Two key features of the Social Progress Index are:[2]

1. the exclusion of economic variables
2. the use of outcome measures rather than inputs

Social Progress Imperative evaluated hundreds of possible indicators while developing the Social Progress Index, including engaging researchers at MIT to determine what indicators best differentiated the performance of nations. The index uses outcome measures when there are sufficient data available or the closest possible proxies.[2]

In 2010, a group of scholars and business leaders sought to develop a better measure of a country's level of development and, by extension, better understand its development priorities.[3][4] Under the technical guidance of Professors Michael Porter from Harvard Business School and Scott Stern from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the group formed a US-based nonprofit called the Social Progress Imperative[5] and launched a beta version of the Social Progress Index for 50 countries in 2013 to measure a comprehensive array of components of social and environmental performance and aggregate them into an overall framework.

This work was influenced by the contributions of Amartya Sen on social development, as well as by the recent call for action in the report Mismeasuring Our Lives by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress.[6] The Social Progress Index was released in 2014 for 133 countries with a second version in 2015.[2]

On 11 July 2013, Social Progress Imperative's chairman and professor at Harvard Business School, Michael Porter, addressed the United Nations 6th Ministerial Forum for Development and discussed the Social Progress Index.[2]

In addition to the global Social Progress Index, the methodology used to create it has been adapted to measure social and environmental performance in smaller areas, such as the Amazon region of Brazil.[7] Other projects include a Social Progress Index for the Municipality of Guatemala City.[8] Fundacion Paraguaya has integrated elements of the Social Progress Index into its Poverty Stoplight tool. The national government of Paraguay is setting a target for Social Progress Index performance alongside GDP targets.

The Guardian reported that the European Commission had agreed to partner with Social Progress Imperative to create a social progress index for the European Union.[9] The EU Social Progress Index was published in October, 2016.

A similar index, although with some differences compared to the nation list (and therefore not directly comparable), has been published for the individual U.S. states.[10][11]

Color key:

Very high →

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 5

Tier 6

→ Very low

Country	2020[12]
	Rank	Score	Basic Human Needs	Foundation of Well Being	Opportunity
Norway[13]	1	92.73	96.85	93.39	87.95
Denmark[14]	2	92.11	96.11	91.58	88.66
Finland[15]	3	91.89	96.22	91.29	88.15
New Zealand[16]	4	91.64	97.22	92.57	85.13
Sweden[17]	5	91.62	96.58	91.03	87.23
Switzerland[18]	6	91.42	96.78	91.99	85.49
Canada[19]	7	91.40	97.03	90.88	86.31
Australia[20]	8	91.29	97.25	91.07	85.55
Singapore[21]	9	91.09	98.07	92.81	82.39
Iceland[22]	10	91.06	96.48	91.18	85.53
Germany[23]	11	90.56	96.14	89.02	86.53
Ireland[24]	12	90.35	96.32	90.03	84.70
Japan[25]	13	90.14	97.78	92.15	80.50
Luxembourg[26]	14	89.56	95.72	91.84	81.13
Austria[27]	15	89.50	96.03	91.84	80.63
Belgium[28]	16	89.46	94.01	89.30	85.07
South Korea[29]	17	89.06	96.92	90.12	80.13
France[30]	18	88.78	94.48	90.78	81.09
Spain[31]	19	88.71	95.27	89.71	81.15
United Kingdom[32]	20	88.54	94.36	90.21	81.06
Portugal[33]	21	87.79	95.69	88.12	79.57
Slovenia[34]	22	87.71	95.62	88.85	78.64
Italy[35]	23	87.36	93.19	88.59	80.30
Estonia[36]	24	87.26	93.08	91.50	77.21
Czech Republic[37]	25	86.69	95.45	86.79	77.83
Cyprus[38]	26	86.64	93.40	89.66	76.84
Greece[39]	27	85.78	93.78	85.11	78.46
United States[40]	28	85.71	92.08	83.14	81.89
Netherlands[41]	29	85.46	97.66	86.13	72.58
Malta[42]	30	84.89	93.25	87.98	73.43
Poland[43]	31	84.32	94.44	83.67	74.86
Lithuania[44]	32	83.97	90.83	83.77	77.30
Israel[45]	33	83.62	93.43	85.53	71.89
Chile[46]	34	83.34	90.79	81.87	77.35
Latvia[47]	35	83.19	90.74	83.83	74.99
Slovakia[48]	36	83.15	93.88	82.98	72.58
Costa Rica[49]	37	83.01	89.88	84.62	74.51
Uruguay[50]	38	82.99	88.64	82.59	77.74
Croatia[51]	39	81.92	91.29	84.79	69.69
Hungary[52]	40	81.02	92.10	80.76	70.19
Argentina[53]	41	80.66	87.73	80.05	74.20
Barbados[54]	42	80.50	87.25	80.08	74.16
Bulgaria[55]	43	79.86	90.88	78.19	70.51
Mauritius[56]	44	78.96	90.90	76.52	69.47
Romania[57]	45	78.35	89.46	78.04	67.54
Kuwait[58]	46	77.47	90.41	81.67	60.33
Belarus[59]	47	77.00	89.80	76.83	64.38
Sri Lanka[60]	48	76.96	88.77	80.52	61.59
Panama[61]	49	76.55	86.00	79.83	63.82
Armenia[62]	50	76.46	87.91	78.22	63.24
Trinidad[63]	51	76.33	82.32	78.18	68.48
Serbia[64]	52	75.54	87.53	75.19	63.90
Ecuador[65]	53	75.45	84.35	79.45	62.55
Albania[66]	54	75.41	86.92	82.71	56.60
Tunisia[67]	55	75.02	85.56	71.29	68.19
Georgia[68]	56	74.85	83.79	77.14	63.64
Jamaica[69]	57	74.75	79.34	74.44	70.47
Montenegro[70]	58	74.42	86.18	77.96	59.12
Peru[71]	59	74.22	82.46	78.50	61.69
Colombia[72]	60	74.00	83.31	80.09	58.59
Brazil[73]	61	73.91	82.69	76.59	62.46
Mexico[74]	62	73.52	82.54	74.67	63.36
Ukraine[75]	63	73.38	83.36	71.97	64.79
Malaysia[76]	64	73.20	81.89	80.33	57.39
Republic of North Macedonia[77]	65	73.16	88.15	75.06	56.25
Bosnia and Herzegovina[78]	66	72.74	86.41	74.08	57.72
Kazakhstan[79]	67	72.66	85.60	76.13	56.24
Moldova[80]	68	72.58	83.32	75.42	59.02
Russia[81]	69	72.56	84.05	74.18	59.44
Paraguay[82]	70	72.48	83.87	75.50	58.09
Cabo Verde[83]	71	72.05	80.15	70.69	65.31
Cuba[84]	72	71.52	86.20	71.86	56.51
Jordan[85]	73	71.50	89.35	69.61	55.54
Oman[86]	74	71.41	87.38	72.33	54.52
Suriname[87]	75	71.12	82.82	69.06	61.48
Mongolia[88]	76	71.07	77.42	71.27	64.52
Dominican Republic[89]	77	71.05	78.69	74.99	59.48
Maldives[90]	78	70.81	86.40	74.65	51.38
Thailand[91]	79	70.72	80.89	75.44	55.83
United Arab Emirates[92]	80	70.60	86.80	71.63	53.38
Qatar[93]	81	70.58	90.40	72.10	49.23
South Africa[94]	82	70.26	73.35	69.28	68.14
Algeria[95]	83	69.92	87.69	66.05	56.02
Indonesia[96]	84	69.49	79.79	68.76	59.92
Lebanon[97]	85	69.37	84.32	67.14	56.63
Botswana[98]	86	69.36	71.48	74.24	62.36
Bolivia[99]	87	69.23	82.26	69.20	56.24
Vietnam[100]	88	68.85	82.03	72.31	52.23
Kyrgyzstan[101]	89	68.65	80.17	72.72	53.04
Fiji[102]	90	68.42	80.28	66.33	58.65
Bhutan[103]	91	68.34	82.02	65.90	57.09
Turkey[104]	92	68.27	85.20	67.47	52.14
Iran[105]	93	67.49	85.25	68.86	48.35
El Salvador[106]	94	67.25	77.62	68.87	55.26
Namibia[107]	95	67.14	67.29	70.92	63.21
Guyana[108]	96	66.95	77.10	64.74	58.99
Morocco[109]	97	66.90	84.78	64.50	51.43
China[110]	98	66.62	70.74	71.24	57.87
Bahrain[111]	99	66.60	86.34	69.60	43.86
Gabon[112]	100	66.12	82.93	64.79	50.63
Saudi Arabia[113]	101	65.06	84.54	67.64	43.02
Uzbekistan[114]	102	64.98	80.35	64.65	49.94
Ghana[115]	103	64.86	65.19	68.04	61.35
Azerbaijan[116]	104	64.11	83.40	67.62	41.32
Nicaragua[117]	105	64.02	75.09	72.83	44.13
Philippines[118]	106	63.93	73.31	62.78	55.71
Iraq[119]	107	63.52	78.06	63.19	49.31
Honduras[120]	108	62.41	73.72	66.38	47.12
Guatemala[121]	109	61.67	68.32	71.33	45.35
Timor-Leste[122]	110	61.08	63.84	66.88	52.53
Senegal[123]	111	60.04	66.20	61.17	52.76
Egypt[124]	112	59.98	79.41	51.55	48.98
Turkmenistan[125]	113	58.35	83.18	59.84	32.05
Nepal[126]	114	57.60	67.59	53.43	51.79
Kenya[127]	115	57.10	55.97	64.60	50.74
Tajikistan[128]	116	56.99	76.81	59.94	34.22
India[129]	117	56.80	66.24	50.15	54.01
Cambodia[130]	118	56.27	67.27	62.09	39.43
Tanzania[131]	119	56.20	56.26	62.91	49.42
Myanmar[132]	120	55.99	64.61	59.27	44.10
Benin[133]	121	55.56	51.94	60.97	53.77
Zambia[134]	122	55.34	56.09	59.94	49.99
Bangladesh[135]	123	55.23	64.18	59.75	41.76
Gambia, The[136]	124	55.10	57.16	55.98	52.15
Rwanda[137]	125	54.13	54.52	62.65	45.21
Malawi[138]	126	54.07	53.60	59.58	49.02
Lesotho[139]	127	53.80	44.33	60.05	57.02
Cote D'Ivoire[140]	128	53.59	55.36	61.52	43.89
Togo[141]	129	53.05	50.80	60.51	47.84
Uganda[142]	130	52.98	53.67	59.20	46.08
Swaziland[143]	131	52.92	60.25	59.03	39.48
Zimbabwe[144]	132	52.26	51.40	64.48	40.88
Laos[145]	133	51.80	62.64	55.18	37.58
Sierra Leone[146]	134	51.74	47.00	58.15	50.07
Liberia[147]	135	51.37	47.75	52.42	53.94
Nigeria[148]	136	51.31	50.82	57.47	45.64
Cameroon[149]	137	51.29	56.31	54.20	43.36
Equatorial Guinea[150]	138	50.08	62.97	50.82	36.45
North Korea[151]	139	50.01	63.94	52.79	33.30
Burkina Faso[152]	140	49.87	47.93	54.74	46.95
Pakistan[153]	141	49.25	59.49	46.88	41.39
Mozambique[154]	142	49.00	46.93	56.22	43.85
Mauritania[155]	143	48.95	56.63	52.69	37.52
Haiti[156]	144	48.79	50.21	54.50	41.65
Ethiopia[157]	145	48.59	51.65	53.38	40.74
Djibouti[158]	146	48.53	58.14	45.43	42.03
Sudan[159]	147	48.51	59.44	50.10	35.99
Madagascar[160]	148	48.46	43.54	54.67	47.17
Congo, Republic of[161]	149	48.45	52.57	56.29	36.48
Mali[162]	150	48.29	51.99	51.69	41.19
Angola[163]	151	48.16	52.60	52.20	39.69
Guinea-Bissau[164]	152	46.69	46.79	47.50	45.79
Papua New Guinea[165]	153	44.91	43.16	44.34	47.23
Guinea[166]	154	43.41	44.61	52.88	32.76
Afghanistan[167]	155	42.29	52.90	39.50	34.47
Congo, Democratic Republic of[168]	156	42.25	41.30	52.21	33.23
Niger[169]	157	42.21	42.20	42.81	41.63
Burundi[170]	158	41.20	40.33	50.08	33.21
Somalia[171]	159	35.58	36.87	43.98	25.90
Eritrea[172]	160	35.20	43.03	38.42	24.16
Central African Republic[173]	161	31.62	21.31	38.68	34.85
Chad[174]	162	31.29	30.87	37.89	25.10
South Sudan[175]	163	31.06	35.74	36.69	20.73

The index's measure of good governance has been criticised for using data biased against the Global South, and some critics have noted that much of the criteria are based on Western values. There has also been debate on the relevance or accuracy of many of the measurements for gender equality.[176] A 2016 survey of online users browsing the SPI website indicated that as one of the index's flaws, 34% of respondents found the data incomplete and/or inaccurate, primarily referencing environmental hazards, energy usage, specific health issues, employment availability and quality, income inequality, gender inequality, and corruption as areas not sufficiently taken into account.[177]

From an econometric stand point, the Index appears to be similar to other efforts aimed at overcoming the limitation of traditional economic measures such as the gross domestic product (GDP). A notable criticism is that although the Social Progress Index can be seen as a superset of indicators used by earlier econometric models such as Gross National Well-being Index 2005, Bhutan Gross National Happiness Index of 2012, and World Happiness Report of 2012, unlike them, it ignores measures of subjective life satisfaction and psychological well-being. Other critics point out that "there remain certain dimensions that are currently not included in the SPI. These are the concentration of wealth in the top 1 percent of the population, efficiency of the judicial system, and quality of the transportation infrastructure."[178]

Some critics argue for caution. Though words such as “inclusive capitalism” are now bandied around increasingly to signal a new age, free from ideological battlegrounds between public and private, much of what the organization’s founders say about it confirms that the index is about more “business inclusive” than “inclusive capitalism.”[179]

• Official website