Malaysia top among Asean countries in Social Progress Index

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia ranked 45th among 132 countries measured in Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd's Social Progress Index (SPI) 2014, with an SPI score of 70.
Malaysia, a new entrant to the index, was the top performer among Asean countries that were included in the study namely the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia.
"Malaysia is also ahead of emerging economic powerhouses like India, China, Russia, Turkey and Brazil," Deloitte in a statement yesterday.
Each country's performance this year was compared to 15 other countries with similar level of economic development based on GDP per capita.
Malaysia's economic peers in the index include Russia, Panama, Botswana, Uruguay, Latvia, Chile, Turkey, Croatia, Belarus, Mexico, Mauritius, Hungary, Lebanon, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan.
"Compared to this peer group of 15 countries, Malaysia has performed relatively well on the underlying measures of 'Basic Human Needs', particularly in the area of 'Shelter'.
"It has also done well in the measures of 'Foundation of Well-being', in the areas of 'Health and Wellness' and 'Ecosystem Sustainability'," said Deloitte.
However, Deloitte said that there is room for improvement in areas under the 'Opportunity' measurement, such as 'Personal Rights', 'Personal Freedom and Choice' and 'Tolerance and Inclusion'.
The SPI 2014 is the second edition of the annual study, which was designed as a complement to GDP and other economic indicators to provide a more holistic understanding of the overall performance of countries.
The top ranking countries for the index in 2014 was led by New Zealand, followed by Switzerland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway with traditional economic powers like Germany (12th), the UK (13th), Japan (14th) and the United States (16th) far behind.