APSN Banner

Indonesia among most improved in terms of prosperity with world's highest levels of volunteering: Report

Source
Jakarta Post - November 25, 2019

Jakarta – Indonesia is among the top five most improved countries in terms of prosperity in the world, with an exceptional ranking in social capital, as the country has the highest levels of civic and social participation in the world, a new report highlights.

The Legatum Prosperity Index 2019 published Monday ranked Indonesia 63rd for prosperity out of 167 countries surveyed. The country's ranking has dropped from 61st in 2018 but remains significantly higher than its ranking of 83rd a decade ago.

"Indonesia's rise in prosperity makes it the fifth most improved country since 2009," a section in the report on Indonesia shows. "Indonesia's economy has strengthened considerably, with improvements across each of the four economic pillars."The four economic pillars that indicate prosperity according to the report by the London-based think tank Legatum Institute include "investment environment", "enterprise conditions", "market access and infrastructure" and "economic quality".

For "investment environment", Indonesia was ranked as the second most improved nation, having leaped 26 ranks in the past 10 years to 55th in 2019. In "economic quality", Indonesia is the seventh most improved nation, rising 24 ranks to 58th in 2019.

A total of 12 pillars are covered in the prosperity index, including "safety and security", "personal freedom", "governance", "social capital", "living conditions", "health", "education" and "natural environment".

Indonesia is also the second most improved country for "social capital", sitting in fifth, having risen 27 ranks in the past decade "as a result of a larger proportion of the population taking part in social and civic activities".

"[Indonesia] now boasts the highest levels of volunteering of any country," the report notes.

However, Indonesia still fares relatively poorly for "personal freedom" and "living conditions", sitting at 103rd and 106th for each pillar.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia ranked higher than Indonesia in the overall prosperity index at 16th and 41st, respectively. Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam all ranked lower than Indonesia in terms of prosperity at 66th, 84th and 85th.

The top five most prosperous countries according to the report are, from first to fifth, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland. In the Asia Pacific region, the top performers include New Zealand (seventh), Hong Kong (15th), Singapore (16th), Australia (17th) and Japan (19th).

"The Asia-Pacific region is the most-improved region over the last decade. Although it is still the fifth ranked region, it has overtaken the global average, and very nearly closed the gap with Latin America and the Caribbean," the report states. (est)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/11/25/indonesia-among-most-improved-in-terms-of-prosperity-with-worlds-highest-levels-of-volunteering-report.html

Country