Sweden ranked top for sustainable competitiveness
Sweden has been ranked top of an index assessing social, environmental and economic development, with the other four Scandinavian nations completing the top five.
Compiled by SolAbility, a Swiss-Korean sustainable management consultancy, the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI) measured the current and future capabilities of countries to generate and sustain income and wealth for their populations. The assessments were based on information from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and UN databases.
READ ALSO: Why Sweden is now the EU's most competitive economy
Europe led the way with only three non-European nations making the top 20 (Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea). And the ranking was designed to show that GDP isn't always a effective indicator of wealth; some of the oil-rich countries in the Middle East performed more poorly than their GDP might suggest, and the USA was ranked 32nd with low scores in resource intensity and social capital.
Each country was ranked on five areas: natural capital, social capital, resource management, intellectual capital, and governance efficiency.
The two categories where Sweden performed best were intellectual capital (education, innovation, and industry), where it was outdone only by South Korea, and natural capital (the availability and depletion of natural resources) where it was ranked fifth, after Laos, Guyana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon.
It also made the top ten when it came to resource efficiency and intensity, for which it was ranked ninth, and came 11th in social capital, which looked at health, security, equality, and life satisfaction.
The only category in which Sweden did not score in the top 20 was governance efficiency, which included infrastructure, market and employment structure, financial industry, and for which Sweden was ranked 37th,
READ ALSO: Four Swedish companies among the world's 'most sustainable'
Comments
See Also
Compiled by SolAbility, a Swiss-Korean sustainable management consultancy, the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI) measured the current and future capabilities of countries to generate and sustain income and wealth for their populations. The assessments were based on information from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and UN databases.
READ ALSO: Why Sweden is now the EU's most competitive economy
Europe led the way with only three non-European nations making the top 20 (Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea). And the ranking was designed to show that GDP isn't always a effective indicator of wealth; some of the oil-rich countries in the Middle East performed more poorly than their GDP might suggest, and the USA was ranked 32nd with low scores in resource intensity and social capital.
Each country was ranked on five areas: natural capital, social capital, resource management, intellectual capital, and governance efficiency.
The two categories where Sweden performed best were intellectual capital (education, innovation, and industry), where it was outdone only by South Korea, and natural capital (the availability and depletion of natural resources) where it was ranked fifth, after Laos, Guyana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon.
It also made the top ten when it came to resource efficiency and intensity, for which it was ranked ninth, and came 11th in social capital, which looked at health, security, equality, and life satisfaction.
The only category in which Sweden did not score in the top 20 was governance efficiency, which included infrastructure, market and employment structure, financial industry, and for which Sweden was ranked 37th,
READ ALSO: Four Swedish companies among the world's 'most sustainable'
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.