U.S. social progress is lagging

Call it further proof that money doesn't buy happiness. Or perhaps a wake-up call. Either way, a look in the mirror for national priorities isn't as flattering as one might assume.

By traditional measure - Gross Domestic Product, or the value of goods and services exchanged (per person) - the U.S. is almost the world's richest country, second only to Norway. Yet by the newest measure, which follows an increasing trend to look beyond dollars and focus more on quality of life, we drop down to 16, outranked by Scandinavians and neighbors in Latin America on the "Social Progress Index."

The SPI, the brainchild of a nonprofit led by Harvard business professor Michael Porter, ranks 132 countries on 54 indicators including personal rights, safety, access to education and justice, nourishment, life expectancy, environmental quality and sustainability, tolerance and diversity. The top 10 in order (with GDP from the World Bank in parentheses) are New Zealand (55), Switzerland (4), Iceland (121), Netherlands (6), Norway (1), Sweden (22), Canada (9), Finland (43), Denmark (34), and Australia (10).

In general, larger economies appear near the top of the index and smaller near the bottom. However, within those groupings are some surprises in relation to other nations with similar GDP rankings.

Some nations outrank their GDP on social progress, such as New Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica, and Brazil. Resource-rich nations tend not to do well on social progress, suggesting exploitation. Among the world's top developing nations, only Brazil ranks relatively well in social progress. Rising economic giants China and India didn't fare well socially (90 and 102, respectively). Also, wealth does not equate to free speech as much as one might think; press freedom doesn't correlate consistently with high GDPs. However, wealth does seem to be a good indicator of access to higher education (but not necessarily primary school).

So why is the U.S., with the second-highest GDP, 16th in social progress? Marginalization. The gap between our richest and poorest and those otherwise socially excluded is too wide, especially as compared to nations with similar GDP/economies.

According to the SPI our weak areas include:

* Basic needs: Access to water and sanitation are worse in the U.S. than in countries with similar GDPs. Even worse is crime/personal safety; we rank 31. For comparison consider Canada (9), Germany (13), New Zealand (17), and the United Kingdom (21).

* Access to information: 81 percent of Americans have Internet access, compared to 87 percent in the UK and Canada. We also have (a lot, but) fewer mobile phone users than have other countries.

* Health: The U.S. ranks poorly in health and wellness (70), in part due to obesity rates.

* Access to basic education: We rank 39, mostly because we have relatively low primary school enrollment rates.

Where do we rank best? We're still the land of opportunity. We outperform similar nations in access to advanced education (post-secondary/higher).

What good is the SPI? In theory, it's a tool to help policy makers identify areas for improvement and patterns of success in other nations which may be emulated. It builds on other modern inventories, such as the Human Development Index, the Better Life Index, and the World Happiness Report.

For more data see the SPI at Socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi.

Sholeh Patrick, J.D. is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at [email protected].