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29th Jan 2019

Ireland ranks very high on the “Good Country Index”

Alan Loughnane

Ireland good country index

It’s acceptable to celebrate this, right?

Ireland has ranked in 2nd place in the world on the ‘Good Country Index’, a ranking of countries throughout the world depending on their contribution to the greater good of humanity relative to their size.

In 2014, Ireland was on top of the world, riding high at number one in an index that uses a wide range of data from the United Nations and other international organisations to determine how we fare when compared to other nations across the globe.

But we slipped in the years after, dropping to 11th spot two years ago, but we’re on the way back with this year’s result.

A country’s placing on the list is determined by their contribution via a range of different categories – Science and Technology, Culture, International Peace and Security, World Order, Planet and Climate, Prosperity and Equality and Health and Wellbeing.

After all of those factors are taken into account, Ireland ranks in 2nd place overall, just behind the top spot in a top ten that is dominated by European countries, with just Finland ranking above us.

Good Country Index Top 10:

  1. Finland
  2. Ireland
  3. Sweden
  4. Germany
  5. Denmark
  6. Switzerland
  7. Norway
  8. France
  9. Spain
  10. Canada

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