Iceland in 5th place on the SPI Index 2022
mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
Iceland drops down one place and is now in the 5th place of 169 nations in the Social Progress Index (SPI) which is conducted by the independent US non-profit company Social Progress Imperative. Every year a lot of variables are measured to reach their conclusion of social progress. This year's index was introduced yesterday.
Best life expectancy for infants and access to education
Iceland scores very high in many areas when the SPI er calculated. Access to water, food and hygiene are some of the areas Iceland scores high in. Life expectancy of infants is highest in Iceland and here access to education is better than in most countries.
As in the few previous years it is Norway that is the leading nation on the top of the SPI list. In second place is Denmark, third Finland, 4th Switzerland and then Iceland in the 5th place.
Next year could be a "social recession"
In the conclusion of this year's Index it says that nations are overall improving, but at a slower pace than previous years. They forecast a "social recession" for next year based on the trend in this year's Index, which would be the first time since the company started measuring social progress.
A yellow dot means that the country is doing well in said category. A blue dot means that the country is excelling in said category, but a red dot means there needs to be improvement in said category. Photo/SPI2022
It is quite striking that three of the G7 nations have gone backwards when it comes to social issues, the US, UK and Canada. US is on the 25th place on the list, but Germany is the highest scoring G7 nation, in the 8th place on the list.
The CEO of Social Progress Imperative, Michael Green says:
“Forward movement in world social progress was nearly imperceptible last year. While the direct and indirect effects of Covid play a role, a precipitous decline in personal rights around the world betrays an even deeper problem, for which there is little on the horizon to suggest that 2023 will be a year of resurgence. The yen to get back to business as usual in a time of crisis is strong, but if policy-makers just focus on an economic recovery, they will miss half the story.”
