KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 ― A new survey measuring how much countries contribute to the planet and to the human race has given Malaysia a middle of the table ranking.
According to the Good Country Index which gauges what each country contributes to the common good of humanity, Malaysia ranked 58 out of 125 countries, behind Singapore and Thailand which came in 27th and 53th respectively.
Japan was the best performing Asian country at 25th and Vietnam the worst at 124th.
The index is the work of independent policy adviser Simon Anholt. His team ranked countries in seven different fields using data from over 35 indicators from the United Nations, World Bank and other institutions.
“We’ve given each country a balance sheet to show at a glance whether it’s a net creditor to mankind, a burden on the planet, or something in between,” he said.
The index does not measure what countries do within their own borders.
Small nations fared well, with Ireland, Finland, Switzerland, Netherlands and New Zealand taking the top five spots.
According to the index, Libya was the least good country, followed by Vietnam, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Angola, in that order.
Malaysia fared better in some of the sub-indices that make up its overall ranking, coming out 10th in the prosperity and equality sub index, 28th in culture, 49th in science and technology.
It didn’t do so well in other categories, limping in at 73rd for planet and climate, 87th for world order, 91st for health and well-being and 113rd for international peace and security.
Malaysia’s high open foreign direct investment outflows, lack of visa restrictions and open trading conditions were seen as plus factors while factors such as poor press freedom and the small number of UN treaties signed were negatives.
