Having seen global prosperity improve steadily between 2015 and 2019, this year’s Legatum Prosperity Index finds that prosperity has plateaued for the second year running.
Having seen global prosperity improve steadily between 2015 and 2019, this year’s Legatum Prosperity Index finds that prosperity has plateaued for the second year running.
Whilst the plateauing of prosperity has
been caused — at least in part — by the health and economic consequences of the
COVID-19 pandemic, it has also been driven by the concerning erosion of many of
the core features that underpin prosperity. Specifically, we have seen an
ongoing deterioration in Political Accountability and Freedom of Speech and
Assembly in most regions of the world. We are calling this out as a key area of
concern.
We have seen prosperity stall for the
second successive year in the world’s two most prosperous regions (North
America and Western Europe), while in the least prosperous region (sub-Saharan
Africa), it has improved for the 11th year in a row.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a major
increase in global mortality. Countries around the world reported almost
five million deaths from COVID-19 from the beginning of pandemic until the end
of October 2021.
Alongside the pandemic’s impact on global health, we have seen
Economic Quality deteriorate sharply in all regions as the impact of
COVID-19 responses reverberates, with North America the region
experiencing the greatest decline.
Preceding the response to the pandemic, there had
already been a concerning long-term erosion of many of the core features
of free societies. Global prosperity has been weakened by the
continuing deterioration of many of the key facets of Governance,
which have deteriorated for the third successive year. In addition, there has
been a deterioration in Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly
across all regions which has been correlated with the weakening of
political accountability.
And, over the last decade, prosperity has been further impacted as both
Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly have weakened across all regions.
Into this context it is concerning that the world’s
two most prosperous regions have been the main contributors to the stalling of
global prosperity — North America and Western Europe. In particular, both
the United States and Canada have seen prosperity weaken over the past two
years. While the impact of COVID, and the resulting actions taken, have driven
the decline in prosperity since 2020, the deterioration in Governance since
2019 has also contributed to the downward trend in prosperity in both
countries.
Finally, our 2021 Prosperity Index reveals that the
bright light in a world of stagnating prosperity has been sub-Saharan Africa
with its modest but consistent progress, despite a deterioration in
the continent’s safety and security. The prosperity of 40 out of 49 countries
improved over the past decade, and the rate of extreme poverty has dropped
across the region from 49.9% to 42.3% of the population. Much of this progress
has been driven by steady improvements in Health and in Infrastructure.
The Index has been designed to benefit a wide range of users, including political leaders, policymakers, investors, business leaders, philanthropists, journalists,…
The varying performance of the Index’s seven regions provide an illustration of how prosperity has plateaued. Five regions have experienced a deterioration in their…
Areas within this domain range from the relationship of citizen and state, to the degree to which violence permeates societal norms, to the interaction of freedoms…
