The Legatum Prosperity IndexTM 2013 is out, and Canada ranks 3rd in the world for its overall prosperity, right behind Norway and Switzerland. The country’s ranking leaped from 6th to 3rd in just one year, thus confirming its position as the leader of the Americas region.

For five years now, the Legatum Institute has been compiling and comparing data of 142 countries in order to draw one of the most accurate and comprehensive portraits of prosperity around the world. Their vision is that prosperity should include not only objective economic indicators, but also subjective evaluations of well-being and development indicators as perceived by the population.

With an impressive balance between scientific rigor and user-friendly design (just play with the interactive map and shuffleboard), the website provides great insights on prosperity to both the expert and the neophyte.

In this changing, post 2008 economic crisis, post Arab Spring world, Canada’s prosperity is exemplary on economic stability and human development alike. Below is a digest of Canada’s data, grouped by LI sub-indexes and revealing the key elements that make Canada the third most prosperous country in the world.

Personal freedom: Canada ranks 1st

  • 94.1% of the population believes it’s a good place to live for immigrants (and ethnic minorities)
  • 91.8% is satisfied with their freedom of choice

Education: Canada ranks 3rd

  • The teacher to pupils ratio is 1:12
  • 79.1% of the population is satisfied with quality of education

Economy: Canada ranks 4th

  • 1.5% inflation
  • 74.6% of the population has confidence in financial institutions
  • 89.4% has access to adequate food and shelter
  • 86.5% is satisfied with their living standards
  • 45.8% thinks it’s a good time to find a job

Social capital: Canada ranks 6th

  • 42.2% of the population has volunteered in the past month
  • 68.5% has donated money to charity
  • 65% has helped a stranger
  • 94.8% says they can rely on others in times of need

Safety & Security: Canada ranks 7th

  • 12.3% of the population had property stolen last year
  • 84.3% feels safe to walk alone at night

Governance: Canada ranks 8th

  • 67.4% of the population has confidence in the honesty of elections
  • 44% believes business/government corruption is widespread

Health: Canada ranks 11th

  • Health expenditure is $4520 per capita
  • Immunization rate against infectious diseases is 95%
  • Life expectancy is 80.9 years

Entrepreneurship & Opportunity: Canada ranks 16th

  • Business start-up costs 0.4% of GNI per capita
  • 78.5% of population thinks it’s a good place for entrepreneurs to start a business
  • Innovation: Canada earns twice as much in royalties than the world’s average

Adapted from The Legatum Institute website.

Photo credits: The Legatum Institute