If we're feeling in need of a pat on the back this Canada Day, the news that Canada ranks second in the world for "social progress" might just be a good enough excuse.
And what does that actually mean? Well, the Social Progress Index is an annual list of what might be thought of as the most enlightened countries. The index is administered by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is based on a rather random basket of social indicators, including fulfillment of basic human needs, access to advanced education, tolerance and inclusion, environmental quality, mobile phone subscriptions, and obesity.
Of the 133 countries measured on the index (covering 94% of the world's population), Finland comes out on top overall, closely followed by Canada, and followed in turn by the usual suspects like Denmark, Australia and Switzerland. In reality, this top group is so closely-packed that individual rankings have only a limited significance. Down at the other end of the scale are impoverished and war-torn countries like Niger, Angola, Chad, Afghanistan and, worst of all, Central African Republic. Of the major categories, Canada does particularly well on basic human needs, access to advanced education, and tolerance for minority communities, and it fares worst on environmental quality, mobile phone ownership, and obesity.
So, a pat on the back perhaps, but don't let's forget those "must do better" categories on the report card.
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