Malaysia has been named the 6th most prosperous country in Asia and 43rd overall globally out of 167 countries and territories in the latest edition of The Legatum Prosperity Index.
An annual ranking developed by the independent educational charity Legatum Institute, the Index is reviewed each year, with the Legatum Prosperity Index 2023 gauging the prosperity of each country and territory through 12 pillars, namely:
- Safety and Security
- Personal Freedom
- Governance
- Social Capital
- Investment Environment
- Enterprise Conditions
- Infrastructure and Market Access
- Economic Quality
- Living Conditions
- Health
- Education
- Natural Environment
Denmark is the most prosperous country in the world
In the overall ranking, Denmark takes the top spot with a score of 83.67, followed by Norway in 2nd place(83.59), Finland 3rd (83.47), Switzerland 4th (83.42) and the Netherlands 5th (82.32).
The highest-ranked Asian nation or territory in the ranking is Japan, 16th with a 78.22, followed by Singapore, 17th with a 78.21.
Taiwan (77.36), Hong Kong (76.90), South Korea (74.07), and Malaysia (66.84) make up the top six in Asia.
Malaysia’s best performance is in the Enterprise Conditions pillar and worst in Personal Freedom
For illustration purposes
For Malaysia, Legatum Institute noted that our country has moved up the rankings by two places from the previous iteration.
The index also found that Malaysia performs most strongly in the Investment Environment pillar, in which our country was ranked 27th globally.
Other pillars in which Malaysia ranked highly include Enterprise conditions (29th globally), Infrastructure & market access (37th globally) and Economic quality (34th globally).
Furthermore, our country saw the biggest improvement in the social capital pillar compared to 10 years ago, ranking 63rd in the latest index.
However, our country scored the lowest in the Personal freedom pillar, ranking 113th out of 167 countries and territories in the index.
So, what do you guys think of Malaysia’s placement in The Legatum Prosperity Index 2023? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Also read: Study: Kota Bharu is Southeast Asia’s 16th Best City, Above Chiang Mai, Surabaya, Cebu & More!
