Wednesday, 12 November 2014 00:00
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INDEXES breed controversy but they have the useful trait of showing the condition of a country from a distance. As Sri Lanka looks to possible political change, with presidential elections around the corner, it makes sense to see whether the Government’s vision of the country’s development is reflected by international evaluations.
Sri Lanka slipped two notches to rank 62 in the latest Legatum Prosperity Index, which ranks nations according to the wealth and wellbeing of their people. According to these numbers it seems Sri Lanka has much to do to achieve inclusive development. Even though it has consistently managed to stay ahead of its fellow South Asian neighbours, the benchmark needs to be set much higher.
This year’s Prosperity Index, compiled by London-based Legatum Institute, ranks 142 nations on their performance across eight equally-weighted sub-indices: Economy, Entrepreneurship and Opportunity, Governance, Education, Health, Safety and Security, Personal Freedom and Social Capital.
Sri Lanka’s rank has been sliding for the past three years from 58 in 2012 to 60 in 2013 and 62 this year. Sri Lanka’s best performance is in the Social Capital sub-index, where it ranks 27th in 2014.
However, despite the end of the civil war with the Tamil Tiger terrorists in 2009, the country has failed to improve in the safety area. The lowest rank is in the Safety and Security sub-index, where it ranks 120th in 2014. No doubt the Government would dismiss this as biased and inaccurate but it does show that post-war Sri Lanka is not as peaceful as one would wish, especially in the law and order department. The erosion of judicial institutions, politicisation of the police and a lack of transparency have continued unabated in the country. This could well be linked to poor performance in other categories as well.
Sri Lanka’s economy dropped five notches to rank 76th globally and Health declined four notches to rank 78. Despite a low inflation rate and unemployment of only 64.6%, people are satisfied with the living standards and only 59.8% had access to adequate food and shelter, slightly more than 10% below the global average of 70.4%. This is perhaps the most telling point even though Government policymakers have insisted massive infrastructure development pointed to economic progress.
The Education sub-index dropped the most - 19 places below last year’s ranking - to place 66th. Sri Lanka’s higher education sector in particular has been under much strain over the last few years with continued tension between university teachers, students and policymakers. Despite the Government’s push to create a knowledge hub, continued lack of funding, transparent policies and constructive engagement have undermined the quality of education.
In other categories, the country ranked 85th in Entrepreneurship and Opportunity, 52nd in Governance, and 43rd in Personal Freedom.
Globally, Norway led the overall rankings for the sixth year followed by Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark and Canada rounding up the top five in that order.
In the South Asian region, in 2014, India improved to 102 and Bangladesh declined a notch to 104. Nepal improved six notches to rank 96th and Pakistan improved five notches to rank 127th.
