May 14, 2014
Editorial
WorldPost

In Terms of Social Progress, America Is Not #1—It's #16

Format:Electronic

Abstract

As Americans, we like to think of ourselves as a world leader. After all, the United States has the largest economy in the world and is near the very top in GDP per capita. We are used to thinking that we lead on social issues like education, access to information, and personal rights, as well as being a model for the world in terms of creating opportunity for our fellow citizens. Yet the new Social Progress Index, a comprehensive framework measuring numerous important social outcomes, paints a very different picture—the U.S. ranks only 16th of 132 countries measured, behind other large countries such as Germany, the UK, Japan, and Canada.