Australia ranked in top three prosperity index

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Created on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 14:10

Written by Editorial staff

A new study by an independent body has attempted to rate the countries of the world based on how prosperous they appear to be.

The Legatum Institute has recently released its 2011 Prosperity Index which attempts to measure factors such as economy, governance and personal freedom - with Australia being listed ahead of both the US and the UK in third place.

In an effort to determine the factors that go into making a country successful, the organisation recognising that neither wealth nor wellbeing on their own are able to account for ongoing national success - while they still play important roles in this area.

To this end, the institute analyses a number of weighted factors that go towards a country's final ranking.

For Australia, it gained placed third out of the 110 nations included in the study thanks in particular to high perceptions of educational opportunities and personal freedom - holding first and fourth place - as well as an estimated average distribution of $40,816 per capita for gross domestic product.

These points are often reason enough for some international visitors to consider the merits of applying for residency through registered migration agents - however the measures do not stop there.

In addition to these factors, the index shows Australia as being fairly well placed in terms of governance in sixth place, while economy and entrepreneurship opportunities were both ranked at seventh place.

Health issues put the country at 14th in the world, with the researchers noting that - while related services and infrastructure was of very high quality - a number of other nations were more actively involved in preventative measures such as public immunisation.

In a similar place were the issues of personal safety and security, with the summary acknowledging that Australia did not suffer the negative impacts of state-sponsored or politically motivated violence.

Researchers also indicated that it was the score of the subjective surveys used by the index researchers to measure public opinion that had placed Australia at 14th in this area rather than any negative objective data.

It is this combination of positive economic and social aspects that appears to combine to make Australia a truly prosperous nation - and a promising location for international visitors.

It is for these reasons that many businesses are able to enjoy the continued support of foreign nationals in their ongoing activities - with migration consultants able assess a firm's suitability for long-term visa applications.