The U.S. Ranks 28th.

“We Are No Longer The Country We Like To Think We Are.”

Michael Green, C.E.O. of the Social Progress Index.

The Social Progress Index, inspired by the research of Nobel-winning economists, collects 50 metrics of well-being – nutrition, safety, freedom, the environment, health, education and more, to measure quality of life. The latest Index, just published, finds that out of 163 countries assessed world-wide, the United States, Brazil and Hungary are the only ones in which people are worse off than when the Index began in 2011. The declines in Brazil and Hungary were smaller than America’s and the U.S. is declining both in absolute terms and relative to its wealthy world power peers. The fastest progress over the past decade is among developing countries with the Gambia, Ethiopia and Tunisia demonstrating notable improvement.

Norway comes out top in this 2020 edition, followed by Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. South Sudan is bottom, with Chad, Central African Republic and Eritrea close by. Despite its immense wealth, military power and cultural influence, the U.S. ranks 28^th, having slipped from 19^th in 2011. Unbelievably, the U.S. now ranks behind significantly poorer countries including Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece. It, the U.S, is first in the world in the quality of its universities but No. 91 in access to quality basic education. The U.S. leads the world in medical technology but is at No. 97 in access to quality health care. The S.P.I. finds that Americans have health statistics similar to those of people in Chile, Jordan and Albania, while children in America get an education roughly on a par with what children receive in Uzbekistan and Mongolia. America ranks at 100 in discrimination against minorities.

Danny Blanchflower,
Dartmouth economist.

A majority of other advanced countries in the survey have lower homicide rates, lower traffic fatality rates, better sanitation and internet access. Michael Green, C.E.O. of the group that publishes the Social Progress Index, notes that the coronavirus will affect health, longevity and education with the impact particularly large in the U.S. and Brazil. The equity and inclusiveness measured by the Index seem to help protect societies from the virus. “Societies that are inclusive, tolerant and better educated are better able to manage the pandemic,” says Green. Danny Blanchflower, a Dartmouth economist, has new research showing that the share of Americans reporting, in effect, that every day is a bad mental health day, has doubled over the past 25 years. “Rising distress and despair are largely American phenomenon not observed in other advanced countries.” Blanchflower says.

Research indicates that a majority of people across countries hit hardest by the Covid 19 pandemic want social progress rather than economic growth to be at the fore, not only as the crisis continues but also once it ends. Young people in particular prefer that their countries prioritise social outcomes even after the pandemic is over..

The decline of the United States over the last decade in this index – more than any country in the world, is a reminder that Americans face structural problems that pre-date Trump and that have festered under both parties. Trump is both a symptom of this larger malaise and also a cause of its acceleration.

This is a shortened version of an article by Nicholas Kristof in the Friday September 11^th 2020 issue of the New York Times International Edition and he suggests, at the end, that first, Americans need to acknowledge that they are on the wrong track, and instead of proclaiming, “We’re No. 1” substitute, “We’re No. 28. And dropping!”

Nicholas Kristof,
New York Times journalist.