Phl ranked 26th most socially advanced country

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is the 26th most socially advanced country, a report by a London-based organization showed.

The Philippines had good rankings in “ecosystem sustainability” (11th) and “personal freedom and choice” (15th) based on the Social Progress Index released recently by the Skoll World Forum.

The Philippines ranked 36th in “basic human needs” (shelter, safety, water, medical care, among others), 24th for “foundations of wellbeing” (access to ICT, health and wellness, and ecosystem sustainability) and 21st for “opportunity” (personal rights, personal freedom and access to higher education.)

However, the country scored poorly in “personal safety” (41st), access to ICT (38th) and “nutrition and basic medical care” (37th).

Sweden topped the survey, followed by Britain, Germany, the United States and Japan.

Of the other Southeast Asian countries covered by the survey, Thailand was 23rd, partly due to a very high score for “basic human needs” where it placed second out of the 50 nations in the category of “shelter.”

Vietnam was 30th and Indonesia, 38th.

Vietnam placed 4th for “shelter” but came out last for “personal rights.”

Indonesia did not place higher than 29th in any category grouping and no higher than 18th in any individual attribute.

Singapore and Malaysia were not covered in this first edition of the index. 

The Social Progress Index ranked 50 countries by their social and environmental performance.

The Skoll World Forum is the premier international platform for accelerating entrepreneurial approaches and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing social issues.

The Social Progress Index is distinctive for being based entirely on social and environmental measures covering basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing and opportunity.