Ghana drops four places in Prosperity Index 2019

Ghana has dropped four spots since 2009 to rank 102 in the world for overall prosperity in 2019. The country ranks at 8 out of 49 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region, according to the Prosperity Index released today.

The Prosperity Index by the Legatum Institute quantifies prosperity in 167 countries across the globe, which together contain 99.4 per cent of the world’s population.

“Almost 300 country-level indicators, grouped into 65 policy-focussed elements, are used to measure the current state of prosperity in these countries and how it has changed since 2007,” the publishers say in the Executive Summary.

According to the publishers, using the Prosperity Index framework, nations around the world can assess their strengths and weaknesses in order to determine the economic and strategic choices that need to be made to further build inclusive societies, open economies, and empowered people to drive greater levels of prosperity.

The Index shows that Ghana has seen deterioration in its safety and security over the last decade, dropping 23 spots to 99 in the world, due to a rise in internal conflicts resulting in conflict driven displacement.

The country’s investment environment has also declined, the Index says, due principally to tighter restrictions being placed on foreign investment.

However, Ghana rose six places in the global rankings for social capital, with personal and family relationships in particular strengthening since 2009. The country also improved five places in the education rankings, with improvements occurring across all levels of education.

The Index also notes that prosperity in sub-Saharan Africa is at its highest ever level, but it is still the lowest-ranked region, and its deficit with the global average has grown.

It indicates that overall, the world is more prosperous than it has ever been, with Denmark overtaking Norway as the strongest performer. North America remains the most prosperous region, although, as a result of its prosperity stagnating, the gap with Western Europe has narrowed.

Of the 167 countries measured and tracked for prosperity in this year’s index, 148 (containing 88 per cent of the world’s population) have seen an improvement in their prosperity since 2009. Although Myanmar (124th) has seen the most improvement in prosperity, government treatment of the Rohingya Muslims is cause for concern. Togo (144th) and Kyrgyzstan (88th) are the second and third most improved countries, rising 14 and 18 ranks respectively.

At the bottom of the Index are Burundi, Eritrea, Somalia, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Afghanistan, Chad, Central African Republic, Yemen and South Sudan.

Source: Emmanuel K. Dogbevi,ghanabusinessnews.com