WELLNESS FOR PEACE IN OCEANIA: Finland places 8th in social progress index Finland placed among the top ten in the Social Progress Index (SPI) compiled by the non-governmental organisation, the Social Progress Imperative. The first official version of report attempts to measure countries’ social and environmental performance and to add them to the scorecard of national success.

The 2014 Social progress Index measures national social development and wellbeing among 132 states. A beta version of the index released in 2013 measured social progress in just 50 states and did not include Finland. In its first year of assessment in the index, Finland has been ranked in 8th position globally, trailing Nordic neighbours Norway (5th) and Sweden (6th), but outstripping Denmark (9th). Last year the trial version of the index ranked Sweden in first place; this year the honour went to New Zealand. The Social Progress Index reviews 50 variables in three main categories. They include basic human needs such as shelter, safety, water and sanitation and nutrition and basic medical care; foundations of wellbeing such as health and wellness, access to information and communications and access to basic knowledge; and opportunity including personal rights, personal freedom and choice, access to advanced education and tolerance and inclusion. The index found that the best performing regions were Europe, North America and Oceania (New Zealand and Australia), while the worst performing were sub-Saharan Africa, central Asia and south Asia. The researchers also found that high GDP alone does not guarantee social progress – major economies such as the United States (16th), Japan (14), Germany (12th), France (20th) and the UK (13th) did not place in the top ten. Countries at the bottom of the list all hailed from the African continent and included Chad in last place, Central African Republic (131) and Sudan (128).