The Good Country Index measures how much each of the 163 countries on the list contribute to the planet, and to the human species, through their policies and behaviors.^[1][2]

2022 rank[3]	Country
1	Sweden
2	Denmark
3	Germany
4	Netherlands
5	Finland
6	Canada
7	Belgium
8	Ireland
9	France
10	Austria
11	Norway
12	Luxembourg
13	Spain
14	Australia
15	Switzerland
16	Qatar
17	Slovenia
18	United Kingdom
19	New Zealand
20	Iceland
21	Bulgaria
22	Estonia
23	Hungary
24	Italy
25	Singapore
26	Lithuania
27	Poland
28	Czech Republic
29	Portugal
30	Croatia
31	Malta
32	Slovakia
33	Chile
34	Japan
35	Latvia
36	Greece
37	South Korea
38	Serbia
39	North Macedonia
40	Moldova
41	Romania
42	Montenegro
43	Armenia
44	United Arab Emirates
45	Uruguay
46	Cuba
47	Turkey
48	Malaysia
49	Costa Rica
50	Bosnia and Herzegovina

^[4]

2018 rank[5]	Country
1	Finland
2	Netherlands
3	Ireland
4	Sweden
5	Germany
6	Denmark
7	Switzerland
8	Norway
9	France
10	United Kingdom

2017 rank[6]	Country	Science and Technology	Culture	International Peace and Security	World Order	Planet and Climate	Prosperity and Equality	Health and Well-being
[01.]	Netherlands	8	2	27	3	19	4	9
[02.]	Switzerland	11	4	44	10	2	5	6
[03.]	Denmark	4	6	64	9	14	2	3
[04.]	Finland	7	13	52	8	6	9	12
[#05.]	Germany;,’”	21	15	37	2	18	14	7
[06.]	Sweden	17	5	67	4	26	3	1
[07.]	Ireland	32	8	50	21	10	1	2
[#08.]	United Kingdom;,’”	5	11	48	12	11	35	4
[09.]	Austria	6	7	65	1	17	13	28
[10.]	Norway	49	22	51	7	5	8	5
[#11.]	France;,”	24	14	53	16	3	17	23
[12.]	Liechtenstein	3	19	17	43	32	23	33
[#13.]	Belgium	9	1	109	13	22	7	16
[#14.]	Canada;,’”	29	25	41	11	39	27	8
[15.]	Singapore	26	29	14	30	21	19	49
[#16.]	Italy;,’”	41	26	55	14	7	36	24
[17.]	New Zealand,’	12	35	33	19	27	69	17
[#18.]	Spain,’”	40	30	70	15	9	34	22
[19.]	Luxembourg	37	10	100	20	30	56	11
[#20.]	Japan;,’”	31	44	73	17	4	38	59
[21.]	Qatar,’	61	45	18	47	33	47	21
[22.]	Bulgaria	14	39	69	32	40	39	53
[#23.]	Australia;,’”	20	48	54	6	50	102	13
[24.]	Portugal	39	12	133	28	23	21	39
[#25.]	United States;,”	38	67	72	29	35	62	10
[26.]	Greece,’	27	47	115	31	15	50	29
[27.]	Iceland	15	37	77	42	1	105	41
[28.]	Estonia	36	3	93	72	57	37	27
[#29.]	South Korea;,’”	44	34	103	33	98	65	19
[30.]	Poland;,’	23	21	107	24	34	46	79
[31.]	Moldova	47	46	9	64	73	22	87
[32.]	Slovenia	10	16	160	18	12	77	57
[33.]	Hungary’	62	28	124	5	20	42	76
[34.]	Czech Republic	2	9	98	48	60	98	47
[35.]	Chile	74	51	19	26	43	73	91
36	Croatia	33	38	146	58	13	10	83
[#37.]	Russia’”	52	41	34	40	149	19	46
[38.]	United Arab Emirates’	55	75	78	39	51	40	44
[39.]	Costa Rica	76	32	16	22	46	82	110
[40.]	Romania	30	31	58	36	37	81	112
[41.]	Latvia	13	17	104	70	42	80	70
[42.]	Lithuania	18	23	99	56	16	124	64
[43.]	Mauritius	83	27	56	34	78	25	126
[44.]	Kuwait’	45	85	10	114	79	43	58
[45.]	Albania	28	33	84	45	132	6	106
[46.]	North Macedonia	19	55	135	54	65	74	34
[#47.]	Egypt,’	25	65	2	25	150	114	56
[48.]	Slovakia	42	20	113	52	24	142	52
[49.]	Uruguay	135	59	6	37	8	135	80
[50.]	Barbados	35	18	126	103	54	32	103
[51.]	Philippines	146	58	47	61	56	12	94
[52.]	Jordan	65	91	31	111	137	24	18
[53.]	Israel’	34	63	123	84	25	99	51
[54.]	Ukraine	1	62	108	57	128	72	55
[55.]	Morocco’	107	54	21	23	138	109	37
[56.]	Tunisia,’	72	93	3	107	69	70	92
[57.]	Georgia	86	109	79	101	55	11	66
[58.]	Malaysia	84	53	147	53	115	49	14
[#59.]	Saudi Arabia’”	67	57	32	89	97	49	35
[60.]	Bahrain	145	114	36	94	62	61	25
[#61.]	Turkey’”	16	69	149	35	135	45	95
[62.]	Lebanon	68	66	153	76	89	31	63
[63.]	Malta	59	83	63	44	63	130	114
[64.]	Fiji	50	81	76	161	109	44	36
[65.]	Bosnia and Herzegovina	53	101	82	97	67	116	43
[66.]	Guatemala	119	83	23	71	113	78	77
[67.]	Algeria	117	141	26	78	72	52	78
[68.]	Oman,’	123	126	11	119	86	75	26
[69.]	Serbia	105	78	80	74	83	15	138
[70.]	Panama	99	117	110	27	99	68	54
[71.]	Montenegro	48	61	128	41	91	71	134
[72.]	Nicaragua	110	100	96	87	140	20	30
[73.]	Seychelles	60	123	4	120	70	134	73
[#74.]	Mexico,”	95	64	85	99	90	108	48
[75.]	Armenia,’	56	103	136	104	108	48	31
[76.]	Thailand’	70	111	40	109	96	113	48
[#77.]	China’P.R.Ch.’”	82	107	90	63	71	87	90
[78.]	Belarus	46	95	132	92	75	84	67
[79.]	Burma	64	60	1	130	45	145	146
[#80.]	Brazil;”	109	119	61	50	53	162	40
[81.]	Ecuador	139	106	24	80	94	110	50
[#82.]	Argentina;”	75	119	39	49	112	100	122
[83.]	Timor-Leste	73	133	49	102	120	29	105
[84.]	Dominican Republic	122	125	129	51	31	76	81
[#85.]	San Marino	127	110	140	81	66	83	20
[86.]	Burkina Faso,’	92	124	46	66	148	30	125
[87.]	Colombia	78	118	15	121	88	119	98
[88.]	Namibia	66	42	89	106	103	136	96
[89.]	Sri Lanka	129	139	42	132	29	86	89
[90.]	Kyrgyzstan	80	76	121	66	159	60	86
[91.]	Grenada	22	50	62	152	77	155	133
[92.]	Brunei	125	79	8	163	49	158	68
[93.]	Senegal,’	69	87	43	100	139	59	160
[94.]	Libya,’	89	49	150	60	100	101	120
[95.]	Peru	102	90	97	95	80	96	113
[96.]	Dominica	51	73	137	116	81	104	111
[97.]	Mongolia	131	96	28	141	118	33	130
[98.]	Cameroon	101	144	13	90	105	150	74
[99.]	Bolivia	161	98	45	46	136	106	85
[#100.]	Indonesia,’”	160	88	7	62	144	133	84
[101.]	Turkmenistan	154	149	57	55	64	121	82
[102.]	Rwanda	118	161	29	144	36	54	141
[103.]	Togo	111	117	38	133	161	16	148
[104.]	Ghana	63	104	66	93	121	107	139
[105.]	Sudan	156	121	12	85	76	143	101
[106.]	Belize	81	136	141	117	122	85	15
[107.]	Bangladesh	130	130	87	59	130	132	32
[108.]	Kazakhstan,’	116	131	20	110	123	131	72
[109.]	El Salvador	121	99	134	147	102	58	42
[110.]	Trinidad and Tobago	93	71	116	136	111	28	152
[111.]	Uzbekistan,’	43	40	162	149	129	41	144
[112.]	Jamaica	104	112	156	125	47	55	117
[113.]	Marshall Islands	77	86	74	86	101	146	147
[114.]	Bhutan’	98	112	70	151	145	26	107
[115.]	Nepal	113	138	22	79	48	160	159
[116.]	Taiwan	91	74	103	131	68	139	124
[117.]	Tajikistan’	103	84	138	108	28	115	154
[118.]	Botswana	133	72	112	75	110	90	145
[119.]	Malawi	94	142	60	69	146	111	116
[120.]	Mozambique’	106	97	25	126	153	103	136
[121.]	Bahamas	114	52	94	148	59	127	155
[122.]	Honduras	136	120	88	122	158	64	62
[123.]	Pakistan,’	88	150	92	129	134	123	38
[124.]	Paraguay	155	140	30	82	127	154	69
[125.]	Syria’	97	43	142	124	38	144	162
[126.]	Azerbaijan’	142	146	5	137	61	122	150
[#127.]	India;“HND”	148	108	102	118	124	67	100
[128.]	Vietnam	128	102	59	158	141	88	99
[129.]	Equatorial Guinea	54	24	139	157	126	125	151
[130.]	Burundi	71	160	125	150	107	92	74
[131.]	Iraq’	90	157	83	68	117	148	118
[132.]	Eritrea’	96	132	122	123	156	94	60
[133.]	Madagascar’	79	153	154	38	160	128	71
[134.]	Haiti	100	145	105	159	41	112	123
[135.]	Guinea’	158	68	75	154	116	118	97
[136.]	Ethiopia’	120	128	101	88	157	51	143
[137.]	Guyana	115	105	159	77	82	157	93
[138.]	Tonga	85	70	161	162	84	79	149
[139.]	Comoros’	132	92	144	140	119	53	115
[140.]	Republic of the Congo	144	137	68	124	74	120	137
[141.]	Guinea-Bissau	57	151	163	73	152	91	121
[142.]	Suriname	134	80	114	105	95	151	132
[143.]	Benin	87	143	117	127	162	66	109
[144.]	Sierra Leone	152	129	151	83	114	129	161
[145.]	Cambodia	153	89	86	138	151	138	65
[146.]	Kenya’	147	127	106	65	133	93	153
[147.]	Iran’PRSN”	151	158	81	96	58	152	128
[148.]	Ivory Coast	126	116	120	156	92	95	129
[149.]	Democratic Republic of the Congo	138	162	91	155	106	63	127
[150.]	Djibouti,	112	36	143	113	147	141	158
[151.]	Central African Republic,”	58	159	148	146	142	89	108
[152.]	Yemen’,	149	154	118	91	85	156	104
[153.]	Papua New Guinea	137	94	130	98	93	161	157
[154.]	Laos’	157	147	111	160	52	163	102
[155.]	Angola’	140	152	131	142	104	147	88
[156.]	Niger’	163	148	119	153	44	117	163
[157.]	Liberia,’	143	124	155	139	143	57	142
[158.]	Chad’	141	56	95	143	163	158	161
[#159.]	Nigeria;,’”	124	135	127	145	131	126	140
[160.]	Zambia	108	155	157	128	125	137	119
{[#161/1.]}	South Africa;”	162	156	158	115	87	153	135
[{161/2.]}	Zimbabwe	150	163	145	112	154	97	156
{[161/3.]}	Afghanistan	159	115	152	135	155	140	131

^[7].

2016 rank	Country
1	Sweden
2	Denmark
3	Netherlands
4	Australia
5	Switzerland
6	Germany
7	Finland
8	France
9	Austria
10	United Kingdom

^[8].

2014 rank	Country
1	Ireland
2	Finland
3	Switzerland
4	Netherlands
5	New Zealand
6	Sweden
7	Germany
8	Norway
9	Denmark
10	United Kingdom

^[9].:

The Good Country Index is a composite statistic of 35 data points mostly generated by the United Nations and G20 members Countries. These data points are combined into a common measure which gives an overall ranking, and a ranking in seven categories:

• Science and Technology
• Culture
• International Peace and Security
• World Order
• Planet and Climate
• Prosperity and Equality
• Health and Well-being.

The concept, and the index itself, were developed by Simon Anholt. The Index was built by Dr. Robert Govers with support from several other organisations.^[10]

The top three countries in the 2014 list were Ireland, Finland, Switzerland; and United Kingdom.^[11] Nine of the top 10 countries in overall rankings are in Western Europe, while Canada tops overall rankings in North America.^[12] The last three countries on the list are Iraq, Iran; Chad, and Afghanistan.

The index attempts to measure the global impacts of national policies and behaviors: what the country contributes to the global commons, and what they take away. The Index utilizes 35 data points, five for each of seven categories. These data points are produced by the United Nations and by other international agencies, with a few by NGOs and other organisations.

Countries receive scores on each indicator as a fractional rank (0=top rank, 1=lowest) relative to all countries for which data are available. The category rankings are based on mean fractional ranks of the five indicators per category (subject to maximum two missing values per category). The overall rank is based on the average of the category ranks. This yields a common measure which gives an overall ranking, a ranking in each of the seven categories, and a balance-sheet for each country that shows at a glance how much it contributes to the world and how much it takes away.^[13]

Science, Technology & Knowledge

• Number of foreign students studying in the country relative to GDP
• Exports of periodicals, scientific journals and newspapers relative to GDP
• Number of articles published in international journals (2009 latest data) relative to GDP
• Number of Nobel prize winners relative to GDP
• Number of International Patent Cooperation Treaty applications relative to GDP

Culture

• Exports of creative goods (UNCTAD's Creative Economy Report categorisation) relative to GDP
• Exports of creative services (UNCTAD's Creative Economy Report categorisation) relative to GDP
• UNESCO dues in arrears as percentage of contribution (negative indicator)
• Number of countries and territories that citizens can enter without a visa
• Freedom of the press (based on mean score for Reporters without Borders and Freedom House index as a negative indicator)

International Peace and Security

• Number of peacekeeping troops sent overseas relative to GDP
• Dues in arrears to financial contribution to UN peacekeeping missions as percentage of contribution (negative indicator)
• Attributed number of casualties of international organised violence relative to GDP (negative indicator)
• Exports of weapons and ammunition relative to GDP (negative indicator)
• Global Cyber Security Index score (according to International Telecommunication Union)

World Order

• Percentage of population that gives to charity as proxy for cosmopolitan attitude
• Number of refugees hosted relative to GDP
• Number of refugees overseas relative to GDP (negative indicator)
• Population growth rate (negative indicator)
• Number of treaties signed as proxy for diplomatic action and peaceful conflict resolution

Planet and Climate

• National Footprint Accounts Biocapacity reserve (2009)
• Exports of hazardous waste relative to GDP (only 2008 and 2011 data available, so 2011 data used as negative indicator)
• Organic water pollutant (BOD) emissions relative to GDP (2007 latest data as negative indicator)
• CO₂ emissions relative to GDP (negative indicator)
• Methane + nitrous oxide + other greenhouse gas (HFC, PFC and SF6) emissions relative to GDP (negative indicator)

Prosperity and Equality

• Trading across borders (open trading performance compared to best practice; i.e. IFC distance to frontier score)
• Number of aid workers and volunteers sent overseas relative to GDP
• Fairtrade market size relative to GDP
• Foreign Direct Investment outflow relative to GDP
• Development cooperation contributions (aid) relative to GDP

Health and Wellbeing

• Amount of wheat tonnes equivalent food aid shipments relative to GDP
• Exports of pharmaceuticals relative to GDP
• Voluntary excess contributions to World Health Organization relative to GDP
• Humanitarian aid contributions relative to GDP
• International Health Regulations Compliance

The Economist's Daily Chart questions the validity of some of its results. It notes that scaling countries on a GDP basis skews it in favor of poorer countries, and that the interpretation of certain parameters is flawed, but also calls the index "a worthwhile pursuit by imagining how countries might compete when they aim to serve others."^[14]

• Globalization
• Sustainable development
• World Happiness Report

• Good Country Index Overall rankings
• Data sources for Good Country Index
• Grgurich, John (30 June 2014). "U.S. Trails Belgium in Ranking of Global Good. Seriously?". The Fiscal Times. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
• Macias, Amanda Marie and Skye Gould (1 July 2014). "Life More: Countries International Politics Environment These 30 Countries Contribute The Most Good To The World". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
• Anholt, Simon (June 2014). "Simon Anholt: Which country does the most good for the world?". TEDSalon Berlin. Retrieved 3 July 2014.