Prosperity Index: Georgia’s Democracy Level One of Best Among Ex-Soviet Countries
The 10th annual Global Prosperity Index 2016 of London-based Legatum Institute revealed that Georgia has improved its prosperity over the last decade. It now ranks 84th among 148 countries.
The results of the research were based on various factors, including: economic quality, business environment, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, social capital and environment.
According to the report, Georgia’s most noticeable achievements have been in the Governance and Business Environment sub-indices, with more than a 36 rank increase in both over the last decade.
Factors holding back Georgia’s prosperity level are Social Capital and Natural Environment, both of which are amongst the global bottom thirty and declining.
However, the study revealed that Georgia performs best on Education and Governance and scores lowest on the Social Capital sub-index, adding it has a small prosperity deficit signifying that it slightly under-delivers prosperity for its citizens compared to its wealth.
“Nevertheless, this is an excellent result compared to its regional peers. Armenia and Azerbaijan have much larger prosperity deficits than Georgia despite having similar wealth and prosperity ranks,” the report reads.
The Legatum index also says that Georgia’s Governance sub-index has improved, surpassing that of its regional peers, adding that between 2007 and 2016, Georgia experienced a 38 percent improvement in perceptions of corruption, a 52 percent increase in judicial independence, and rule of law has progressed substantially, all of which are the best scores in the region.
“Georgia’s democracy level is one of the best amongst ex-soviet countries. The level of political rights has risen above the global average. Such improvements in these variables are rare for an ex-soviet country,” the Legatum Institute highlighted.
However, the report stressed that since 2013, the country has noticed a decline in confidence in the honesty of elections and in the government.
Most impressively, according to the Index, it seems that improvements in governance have come alongside huge efforts to augment Personal Freedom in Georgia.
As for the global prosperity, the report says that after the 2008 and 2009 global financial crisis, global prosperity has risen to unprecedented levels in the past decade.
The Legatum Institute is based in London and is an independent charity within the Legatum Group, a private investment group with a 30-year heritage of global investment in businesses and programs that promote sustainable human development. It is also an international think tank and educational charity focused on understanding, measuring and explaining the journey from poverty to prosperity for individuals, communities and nations.
The Legatum Prosperity Index, the Institute’s signature publication, provides a lens through which to view a comprehensive assessment of national success. It offers a unique insight into how prosperity is forming and changing across the world.
Thea Morrison