The Good Country Index measures how much each of the 163 countries on the list contribute to the planet, and to the human race, through their policies and behaviors.^[1][2]

Top 50 overall rank (version 1.5)

2022 rank[3]	Country
1	Sweden
2	Denmark
3	Germany
4	Netherlands
5	Finland
6	Canada
7	Belgium
8	Ireland
9	France
10	Austria
11	Norway
12	Luxembourg
13	Spain
14	United Kingdom
15	Switzerland
16	Cyprus
17	Slovenia
18	Australia
19	New Zealand
20	Iceland
21	Bulgaria
22	Estonia
23	Hungary
24	Italy
25	Singapore
26	Lithuania
27	Poland
28	Czech Republic
29	Portugal
30	Croatia
31	Malta
32	Slovakia
33	Chile
34	Japan
35	Latvia
36	Greece
37	South Korea
38	Serbia
39	North Macedonia
40	Moldova
41	Romania
42	Montenegro
43	Armenia
44	South Africa
45	Uruguay
46	Cuba
47	India
48	Malaysia
49	Costa Rica
50	Bosnia and Herzegovina

2018 top 10 overall rank (version 1.3)

2018 rank[4]	Country
1	Finland
2	Netherlands
3	Ireland
4	Sweden
5	Germany
6	Denmark
7	Switzerland
8	Norway
9	France
10	Spain

2017 top 163 overall rank (version 1.2)

2017 rank[5]	Country	Science and Technology	Culture	International Peace and Security	World Order	Planet and Climate	Prosperity and Equality	Health and Well-being
1	Netherlands	8	2	27	3	19	4	9
2	Switzerland	11	4	44	10	2	5	6
3	Denmark	4	6	64	9	14	2	3
4	Finland	7	13	52	8	6	9	12
5	Germany	21	15	37	2	18	14	7
6	Sweden	17	5	67	4	26	3	1
7	Ireland	32	8	50	21	10	1	2
8	United Kingdom	5	11	48	12	11	35	4
9	Austria	6	7	65	1	17	13	28
10	Norway	49	22	51	7	5	8	5
11	France	24	14	53	16	3	17	23
12	Hungary	3	19	17	43	32	23	33
13	Belgium	9	1	109	13	22	7	16
14	Canada	29	25	41	11	39	27	8
15	Singapore	26	29	14	30	21	19	49
16	Italy	41	26	55	14	7	36	24
17	New Zealand	12	35	33	19	27	69	17
18	Spain	40	30	70	15	9	34	22
19	Luxembourg	37	10	100	20	30	56	11
20	Cyprus	31	44	73	17	4	38	59
21	Japan	61	45	18	47	33	47	21
22	Bulgaria	14	39	69	32	40	39	53
23	Australia	20	48	54	6	50	102	13
24	Portugal	39	12	133	28	23	21	39
25	United States	38	67	72	29	35	62	10
26	Greece	27	47	115	31	15	50	29
27	Iceland	15	37	77	42	1	105	41
28	Estonia	36	3	93	72	57	37	27
29	South Korea	44	34	103	33	98	65	19
30	Poland	23	21	107	24	34	46	79
31	Moldova	47	46	9	64	73	22	87
32	Slovenia	10	16	160	18	12	77	57
33	Malta	62	28	124	5	20	42	76
34	Czech Republic	2	9	98	48	60	98	47
35	Chile	74	51	19	26	43	73	91
36	Croatia	33	38	146	58	13	10	83
37	Malaysia	52	41	34	40	149	19	46
38	Turkey	55	75	78	39	51	40	44
39	Costa Rica	76	32	16	22	46	82	110
40	Romania	30	31	58	36	37	81	112
41	Latvia	13	17	104	70	42	80	70
42	Lithuania	18	23	99	56	16	124	64
43	Mauritius	83	27	56	34	78	25	126
44	Morocco	45	85	10	114	79	43	58
45	Albania	28	33	84	45	132	6	106
46	North Macedonia	19	55	135	54	65	74	34
47	South Africa	25	65	2	25	150	114	56
48	Slovakia	42	20	113	52	24	142	52
49	Uruguay	135	59	6	37	8	135	80
50	Barbados	35	18	126	103	54	32	103
51	Philippines	146	58	47	61	56	12	94
52	Jordan	65	91	31	111	137	24	18
53	Israel	34	63	123	84	25	99	51
54	Ukraine	1	62	108	57	128	72	55
55	Thailand	107	54	21	23	138	109	37
56	Tunisia	72	93	3	107	69	70	92
57	Georgia	86	109	79	101	55	11	66
58	United Arab Emirates	84	53	147	53	115	49	14
59	India	67	57	32	89	97	49	35
60	Qatar	145	114	36	94	62	61	25
61	Bosnia and Herzegovina	16	69	149	35	135	45	95
62	Lebanon	68	66	153	76	89	31	63
63	Kenya	59	83	63	44	63	130	114
64	Fiji	50	81	76	161	109	44	36
65	Russia	53	101	82	97	67	116	43
66	Guatemala	119	83	23	71	113	78	77
67	Sri Lanka	117	141	26	78	72	52	78
68	Oman	123	126	11	119	86	75	26
69	Serbia	105	78	80	74	83	15	138
70	Panama	99	117	110	27	99	68	54
71	Montenegro	48	61	128	41	91	71	134
72	Nicaragua	110	100	96	87	140	20	30
73	Egypt	60	123	4	120	70	134	73
74	Mexico	95	64	85	99	90	108	48
75	Armenia	56	103	136	104	108	48	31
76	China	70	111	40	109	96	113	48
77	Uganda	82	107	90	63	71	87	90
78	Belarus	46	95	132	92	75	84	67
79	Samoa	64	60	1	130	45	145	146
80	Brazil	109	119	61	50	53	162	40
81	Ecuador	139	106	24	80	94	110	50
82	Argentina	75	119	39	49	112	100	122
83	Timor-Leste	73	133	49	102	120	29	105
84	Dominican Republic	122	125	129	51	31	76	81
85	Kuwait	127	110	140	81	66	83	20
86	Burkina Faso	92	124	46	66	148	30	125
87	Colombia	78	118	15	121	88	119	98
88	Namibia	66	42	89	106	103	136	96
89	Azerbaijan	129	139	42	132	29	86	89
90	Kyrgyzstan	80	76	121	66	159	60	86
91	Grenada	22	50	62	152	77	155	133
92	Brunei	125	79	8	163	49	158	68
93	Senegal	69	87	43	100	139	59	160
94	Seychelles	89	49	150	60	100	101	120
95	Peru	102	90	97	95	80	96	113
96	Dominica	51	73	137	116	81	104	111
97	Mongolia	131	96	28	141	118	33	130
98	Cameroon	101	144	13	90	105	150	74
99	Bolivia	161	98	45	46	136	106	85
100	Indonesia	160	88	7	62	144	133	84
101	Zambia	154	149	57	55	64	121	82
102	Rwanda	118	161	29	144	36	54	141
103	Togo	111	117	38	133	161	16	148
104	Ghana	63	104	66	93	121	107	139
105	Tanzania	156	121	12	85	76	143	101
106	Saudi Arabia	81	136	141	117	122	85	15
107	Bangladesh	130	130	87	59	130	132	32
108	Kazakhstan	116	131	20	110	123	131	72
109	El Salvador	121	99	134	147	102	58	42
110	Trinidad and Tobago	93	71	116	136	111	28	152
111	Marshall Islands	43	40	162	149	129	41	144
112	Eswatini	104	112	156	125	47	55	117
113	Jamaica	77	86	74	86	101	146	147
114	Zimbabwe	98	112	70	151	145	26	107
115	Algeria	113	138	22	79	48	160	159
116	Antigua and Barbuda	91	74	103	131	68	139	124
117	Cape Verde	103	84	138	108	28	115	154
118	Botswana	133	72	112	75	110	90	145
119	Malawi	94	142	60	69	146	111	116
120	Madagascar	106	97	25	126	153	103	136
121	Bahamas	114	52	94	148	59	127	155
122	Honduras	136	120	88	122	158	64	62
123	Pakistan	88	150	92	129	134	123	38
124	Paraguay	155	140	30	82	127	154	69
125	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	97	43	142	124	38	144	162
126	Nigeria	142	146	5	137	61	122	150
127	Lesotho	148	108	102	118	124	67	100
128	Vietnam	128	102	59	158	141	88	99
129	Saint Lucia	54	24	139	157	126	125	151
130	Burundi	71	160	125	150	107	92	74
131	Iran	90	157	83	68	117	148	118
132	Guinea	96	132	122	123	156	94	60
133	Liberia	79	153	154	38	160	128	71
134	Laos	100	145	105	159	41	112	123
135	Guyana	158	68	75	154	116	118	97
136	Niger	120	128	101	88	157	51	143
137	Bahrain	115	105	159	77	82	157	93
138	Tonga	85	70	161	162	84	79	149
139	Haiti	132	92	144	140	119	53	115
140	Republic of the Congo	144	137	68	124	74	120	137
141	Guinea-Bissau	57	151	163	73	152	91	121
142	Suriname	134	80	114	105	95	151	132
143	Benin	87	143	117	127	162	66	109
144	Sierra Leone	152	129	151	83	114	129	161
145	Cambodia	153	89	86	138	151	138	65
146	Mozambique	147	127	106	65	133	93	153
147	Gabon	151	158	81	96	58	152	128
148	Ivory Coast	126	116	120	156	92	95	129
149	Democratic Republic of the Congo	138	162	91	155	106	63	127
150	Belize	112	36	143	113	147	141	158
151	Central African Republic	58	159	148	146	142	89	108
152	Venezuela	149	154	118	91	85	156	104
153	Papua New Guinea	137	94	130	98	93	161	157
154	Equatorial Guinea	157	147	111	160	52	163	102
155	Syria	140	152	131	142	104	147	88
156	Angola	163	148	119	153	44	117	163
157	Mali	143	124	155	139	143	57	142
158	Mauritania	141	56	95	143	163	158	161
159	Chad	124	135	127	145	131	126	140
160	Yemen	108	155	157	128	125	137	119
161	Iraq	162	156	158	115	87	153	135
162	Libya	150	163	145	112	154	97	156
163	Afghanistan	159	115	152	135	155	140	131

2016 top 10 overall rank (version 1.1)

2016 rank	Country
1	Sweden
2	Denmark
3	Netherlands
4	United Kingdom
5	Switzerland
6	Germany
7	Finland
8	France
9	Austria
10	Canada

2014 top 10 overall rank (version 1.0)

2014 rank	Country
1	Ireland
2	Finland
3	Switzerland
4	Netherlands
5	New Zealand
6	Sweden
7	United Kingdom
8	Norway
9	Denmark
10	Belgium

Description

The Good Country Index is a composite statistic of 35 data points mostly generated by the United Nations. These data points are combined into a common measure which gives an overall ranking, and a ranking in seven categories:

• Science and Technology
• Culture
• International Peace and Security
• World Order
• Planet and Climate
• Prosperity and Equality
• Health and Well-being

The concept, and the index itself, were developed by Simon Anholt. The Index was built by Dr. Robert Govers with support from several other organisations.^[6]

The top three countries in the 2014 list were Ireland, Finland and Switzerland.^[7] Nine of the top 10 countries in overall rankings are in Western Europe, while Canada tops overall rankings in North America.^[8] The last three countries on the list are Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan.

Methodology

Testing and method

The Index attempts to measure the global impacts of national policies and behaviors: what the country contributes to the global commons, and what they take away. The Index utilizes 35 data points, five for each of seven categories. These data points are produced by the United Nations and by other international agencies, with a few by NGOs and other organisations.

Countries receive scores on each indicator as a fractional rank (0=top rank, 1=lowest) relative to all countries for which data are available. The category rankings are based on mean fractional ranks of the five indicators per category (subject to maximum two missing values per category). The overall rank is based on the average of the category ranks. This yields a common measure which gives an overall ranking, a ranking in each of the seven categories, and a balance-sheet for each country that shows at a glance how much it contributes to the world and how much it takes away.^[9]

Categories and indicators

Science, Technology & Knowledge

• Number of foreign students studying in the country relative to GDP
• Exports of periodicals, scientific journals and newspapers relative to GDP
• Number of articles published in international journals (2009 latest data) relative to GDP
• Number of Nobel prize winners relative to GDP
• Number of International Patent Cooperation Treaty applications relative to GDP

Culture

• Exports of creative goods (UNCTAD's Creative Economy Report categorisation) relative to GDP
• Exports of creative services (UNCTAD's Creative Economy Report categorisation) relative to GDP
• UNESCO dues in arrears as percentage of contribution (negative indicator)
• Number of countries and territories that citizens can enter without a visa
• Freedom of the press (based on mean score for Reporters without Borders and Freedom House index as a negative indicator)

International Peace and Security

• Number of peacekeeping troops sent overseas relative to GDP
• Dues in arrears to financial contribution to UN peacekeeping missions as percentage of contribution (negative indicator)
• Attributed number of casualties of international organised violence relative to GDP (negative indicator)
• Exports of weapons and ammunition relative to GDP (negative indicator)
• Global Cyber Security Index score (negative indicator)

World Order

• Percentage of population that gives to charity as proxy for cosmopolitan attitude
• Number of refugees hosted relative to GDP
• Number of refugees overseas relative to GDP (negative indicator)
• Population growth rate (negative indicator)
• Number of treaties signed as proxy for diplomatic action and peaceful conflict resolution

Planet and Climate

• National Footprint Accounts Biocapacity reserve (2009)
• Exports of hazardous waste relative to GDP (only 2008 and 2011 data available, so 2011 data used as negative indicator)
• Organic water pollutant (BOD) emissions relative to GDP (2007 latest data as negative indicator)
• CO₂ emissions relative to GDP (negative indicator)
• Methane + nitrous oxide + other greenhouse gas (HFC, PFC and SF6) emissions relative to GDP (negative indicator)

Prosperity and Equality

• Trading across borders (open trading performance compared to best practice; i.e. IFC distance to frontier score)
• Number of aid workers and volunteers sent overseas relative to GDP
• Fairtrade market size relative to GDP
• Foreign Direct Investment outflow relative to GDP
• Development cooperation contributions (aid) relative to GDP

Health and Wellbeing

• Amount of wheat tonnes equivalent food aid shipments relative to GDP
• Exports of pharmaceuticals relative to GDP
• Voluntary excess contributions to World Health Organisation relative to GDP
• Humanitarian aid contributions relative to GDP
• International Health Regulations Compliance

Criticism

The Economist's Daily Chart questions the validity of some of its results. It notes that scaling countries on a GDP basis skews it in favor of poorer countries, and that the interpretation of certain parameters is flawed, but also calls the index "a worthwhile pursuit by imagining how countries might compete when they aim to serve others."^[10]