What is Social Progress?

The state of our nations, our citizens and our livelihoods are all being measured against the sustainable development of our Countries.

Social progress could become one of the most important indicators to show how successful a country is in terms of the standard of living offered to its people against the damage development and progress is doing to the planet.

Rather than looking purely at the economic factors, social issues such as health, housing, equality, inclusion, sustainability, personal freedom and safety are all taken into account.

Some countries have already shown that it is possible to improve living standards while emitting lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to other countries that are developing at the expense of the planet.

Measuring social progress gives us all a more complete picture of how a country is developing, which in turn should help governments and societies to make choices that are better for the planet.

Countries including Costa Rica, Ghana, Jamaica and Sweden currently emit low levels of carbon when compared to their peers and they are also ahead in the social progress stakes. On the other hand, improving social progress in Australia, the United States, Qatar and China comes at too high a cost to the planet.

The 2021 Social Progress Index published by the Social Progress Imperative, a US-based non-profit, highlights what it would take to get the world to a sustainable level of emissions in 2030.

I​f every country achieved emissions levels comparable with the most sustainable country at a similar level of development, the world would reduce the amount of greenhouse gas per capita by 4.58 tonnes and achieve a sustainable level of emissions.

CEO of the Social Progress Imperative, Michael Green, says: “The latest Index results show that we do not have to make a choice between tackling climate change or advancing social progress.

“Too many countries are choosing a model of development that is not sustainable, but they don’t have to. Other models exist that would allow us to balance the needs of people and the planet. The solutions are already out there. Inclusive and sustainable growth need to go hand in hand.”

The 2021 Social Progress Index (“the Index”) ranks 168 countries’ social performance since 2011 based on 53 social and environmental outcome indicators.