Wednesday, August 14, 2013

How do Canada and the US rank in the world?

Our politicians like to tell us in Canada that we  have a great country and we are one of the best places on earth, I believe the American politicians lie to their people as well. I came across an interesting website called the Legatum Prosperity Index which ranks the worlds countries by various factors. If you look at all of the factors, Canada in 2012 came out 6th in the world and the United States came in 12th. Not bad,, but Canada has remained static since 2010 and the  US has slipped from 10th to 12th. The trend is not looking good. We in Canada are not on the correct path, and I suggest our neighbours to the south need to rethink their path as well. 

What countries are ahead of us, while to the chagrin of our conservative politicians they are countries that have a socialist view. Number one in the world since 2009 is Norway, Number 2 in the world is Denmark, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand make out the rest of the top five and have since 2009. They must be doing something right.

Some of the factors and our rankings when compared to other countries in the world
Economy 
Canada is ranked 8th, United States 20th, Number one is Norway

Entrepreneurial Opportunity
Canada is ranked 16th, United States ranks 10th, Denmark is ranked #1

Governance
Canada is ranked 6th, United States ranks 12th, Switzerland is ranked #1

Educational Opportunity
Canada is ranked 3rd, United States ranks 5th, New Zealand is ranked #1

Health
Canada is ranked 15th, United States ranks 2nd, Luxembourg is ranked #1

Safety and Security
Canada is ranked 9th, United States ranks 27th, Iceland is ranked #1

Personal Freedom
Canada is ranked #1, United States ranks 14th

Social Capital
Canada is ranked 8th, United States ranks 10th, Norway is ranked  #1

It would appear we in Canada are doing ok, yet if you compare the numbers from 2010 in almost every category above we have fallen in the rankings, so we are not heading in the right direction, while our American friends have fallen in some and risen in other. 

We cannot afford to be complacent when we listen to our politicians, they do not like facts and believe that if they lie to us enough we will believe them. There is an old saying which is still true today. How can you tell if a politician is lying? They are talking.  We have to keep our politicians accountable.

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