Ireland ranks high on the 2018 Good Country IndexGetty
The Good Country Index has only one country ahead of Ireland
The Good Country Index has ranked Ireland as the second best country in the world for 2018, coming in just behind Finland.
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The Good Country Index is a self-funded project that ranks the countries of the world on a spectrum of qualifications.
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The website says: “We're not making moral judgments about countries.”
“What we mean by a Good Country is something much simpler: it’s a country that contributes to the greater good of humanity. A country that serves the interests of its own people, but without harming - and preferably by advancing - the interests of people in other countries too.”
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Of the 153 countries ranked, here is how Ireland fared in each category:
- Science & Technology: 46th
- Culture: 9th
- International Peace and Security: 4th
- World Order: 19th
- Planet and Climate: 27th
- Prosperity and Equality: 6th
- Health and Wellbeing: 8th
All of the countries in the top 10 places were European, except for tenth place, which went to Canada. The United Kingdom ranked 15th, Australia came in 20th, and the United States ranked 40th.
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While 2018’s second-place ranking was impressive for Ireland, it doesn’t beat the country’s first-place ranking back in 2015.
The Good Country Index was devised by Simon Anholt and built by Dr. Robert Govers with help, advice, and data from many other organizations.