Australia ranks above UK in prosperous country index

The report by the Legatum Institute, a think tank based in London, gave Finland first place in a survey of 104 countries measuring not only wealth but “general well being” and happiness.

The results come at a time when Australia’s economy has performed well, one of the few developed countries to avoid recession, and record numbers of people emigrating to Australia.

The Legatum Institute reported that mediocre scores for education, health, domestic security, and levels of personal freedom due to excessive regulation have dragged down UK’s overall performance.

Senior vice president of the Institute Dr William Inboden, who used to work for George W Bush at the White House, said that despite the recession the UK continues to perform well on important economic indicators but has poor performance in other areas such as health.

“Beyond the positive headlines the UK is burdened by sluggish performance in its educational institutions, its domestic security, its health outcomes, and even citizens’ views of how free they are to create the life they would like to have.

“The Legatum Prosperity index has attempted to provide a comprehensive measurement of prosperity using a combination of variables based on economic wealth and quality of life.”

The UK leads both Germany and France in its overall approach to economic wellbeing but ranks 21st on education, 23rd on health, and 22nd on domestic security.

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