JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia has risen six ranks to sit at 78th in the world for prosperity in the 2017 Legatum Prosperity Index. Saudi Arabia has made considerable strides in governance. It is also encouraging to see the number of women representatives in parliament increase notably in that last decade. The 11th edition of the Index revealed a number of surprising global, regional and national trends in economic and social wellbeing, including an alarming deterioration in global security and a widening gap between the most and least prosperous nations. The Legatum Prosperity Index is the world’s leading global measure of economic and social wellbeing. Covering 149 nations and based on 104 indicators and 15,000 data points, it presents a unique insight into international wellbeing by identifying the conditions required for prosperous nations. Its broad range of indicators allows the Prosperity Index to pinpoint not only the drivers, but also the obstacles to a nation’s prosperity. These are organized into nine pillars of prosperity: Economic Quality, Business Environment, Governance, Personal Freedom, Social Capital, Safety and Security, Education, Health and Natural Environment. Despite turbulence in many areas, global prosperity has increased. Prosperity now sits at its highest level in the last decade, 2.6% higher than in 2007. More countries have shown improvement than those who haven’t, however the gap between the most and least prosperous 30 nations continues to grow. More countries experienced growing prosperity (88) than falling (61) in the last year, with the greatest increases coming in the Asia-Pacific region. The most important driver of this improved prosperity over the last 11 years is the significant strengthening of the world’s Business Environment, one of the nine pillars of the Index. Norway has regained the number one spot from New Zealand. Norway’s #1 ranking has been the result of improvements in the country’s Business Environment and Governance in the past twelve months, with Norwegians more optimistic about starting a business and more confident in their government than last year. The UK has maintained its tenth place in the rankings Britain stays in 10th place, driven by the best Business Environment in Europe, and fifth best in the world. Economic Quality in the UK has also begun to recover, and now sits ahead of both Canada and the US. Safety and security continued its decade-long decline, deteriorating in nearly two-thirds of nations and by five times more than any of the Index’s other pillars. The most concentrated declines have come in the MENA region, in part as a result of Syria’s civil war. The greatest gains in prosperity have come from the Asia-Pacific region. Gains came through a fast-improving Business Environment, especially in the population centers of India (100th), China (90th), Pakistan (137th) and Indonesia (59th). Governance improved in every region in 2017, with Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa rising fastest. Across the world judiciaries became more independent from state interference and the process of challenging governmental regulation became easier. People also became more confident in the outcomes of elections. Western European prosperity remained broadly constant. India has narrowed the gap on China to a quarter of what it was in 2012. It has improved by four ranks in the past year, the result of gains in Business Environment, Economic Quality and Governance. While overall prosperity increased in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region also contains some notable fallers, including Venezuela but also Nicaragua, Ecuador and El Salvador. The Nordic and Anglosphere nations have enjoyed the highest overall prosperity in the world. There has been a representative from each at the number one spot for each of the last eleven years, with consistently high quality of life especially in the Health and the Natural Environment pillars. Commenting on the publication of this year’s edition of the Prosperity Index, the Legatum Institute’s CEO, Philippa Stroud, said: “Once again, this year’s Index is helping us all identify how we can create more prosperous lives, building stronger economies, societies and nations. Searching out the areas in which nations have potential to grow is a crucial part of realising this goal. Our hope is that our Index can continue to help governments and policy-makers to identify and promote policies that create pathways from poverty to prosperity.” — SG