If asked to name the best country in the world, many patriotic Britons would argue that it’s Britain. However, scientists from Germany’s University of Würzburg have unveiled a more objective truth with the help of a unique political tool. The Stateness Index was created to determine which countries function the most efficiently, and the rankings have some surprising results. The UK, despite its reputation, only came in 13th place, just behind the Seychelles and Finland. Singapore claimed the top spot, followed by Australia and Denmark. The full list is provided below.
The Stateness Index considers three key categories of data spanning from 1950 to 2022: a nation’s law, violence, and overall administration. It takes into account factors like doctor waiting times and electricity access. The ‘V-Dem’ model, which relies on survey responses from over 3,500 state experts, compares and weighs different values to determine a country’s ‘stateness’. Nations are then classified as ‘high functioning’, ‘functioning’, ‘defective’, ‘profound defective’, or ‘collapsed’.
It is worth noting that countries categorized as ‘defective’ or ‘profound defective’ may still be politically stable but are deemed to have major flaws in their systems. Surprisingly, some autocratic countries, such as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, ranked highly in terms of functioning. This suggests that the Stateness Index is not biased towards democracies. On the other hand, Papua New Guinea was classified as a ‘collapsed’ state due to extreme discrepancies in access to public services between urban and rural areas.
Dr. Theresa Paola Stawski, one of the researchers involved, expresses surprise at some of the findings. She believes that further research in this field is crucial, particularly for nations lacking human rights and freedom of speech. Dr. Stawski emphasizes the importance of studying the state as a political institution and how it affects countries’ stability and fragility. The study’s results challenge preconceived notions and contribute to the ongoing debate on stateness.
The rankings provide a comprehensive view of how 173 countries around the world function. Highlighted below are the top 5 and bottom 5 states overall.
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