According to the ranking list prepared among others by Deloitte, Poland is one of the countries that boast high level of social development.

Poland ranks top with its high social progress
Social factors
The Social Progress Index 2016 report (SPI) shows the level of social development in most countries of the world. Among the 133 studied, Finland is the unquestionable leader.
As the report authors underline, growth in GDP does not reflect the full condition of a given society and the state of a country’s economy. That is why this study encompasses also social, environmental and economic factors. SPI is made according to an average performance in three main categories subdivided into 53 variables. Main categories were titled as follows:
- Basic Human Needs:
- Nutrition and Basic Medical Care
- Water and Sanitation
- Shelter
- Personal Safety
- Foundations of Wellbeing:
- Access to Basic Knowledge
- Access to Information and Communications
- Health and Wellness
- Environmental Quality
- Opportunity
- Personal Freedom and Choice
- Access to Advanced Education
- Tolerance and Inclusion
- Personal Rights
The list
133 countries were studied, which means an area covering almost 94% of the world’s population. European and North American countries seem to boast a better level of social development in general, with Australia just behind them. This year the podium belongs to Finland, Canada and Denmark. Last places are taken by sub-Saharan, middle and south Asian countries with Afghanistan, Chad and the Central African Republic coming as the very last on the list.
An average score for the whole world equals 62.88 points, which gives a result somewhere between the ones achieved by Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan.
Poland high on the list
This year’s report places Poland 30th with 79.76 points, which is by two points better than last year, although the country dropped from the 27th position. It means that the country belongs to the second group called High Social Progress, next to Japan, Germany, the USA and France.
Among countries of the region only Slovenia (20th), the Czech Republic (22nd) and Estonia (23rd) performed better than Poland. Slovakia (31st), Croatia (33rd), Lithuania (34th), Hungary (35th), Latvia (36th), Romania (42nd) and Bulgaria (43rd) are placed just behind Poland on the list.
In comparison to countries with a similar GDP level, Poland performs best when it comes to personal safety. However, the country still has some issues in the area of accessibility of cheap apartments, health care and air quality.
Poland’s best result concerns the fulfilment of Basic Human Needs (90.97 points), it perfoms a bit worse when it comes to Foundations of Wellbeing (80.15 points) and its lowest score is in the Opportunity category (68.16 points).
For the comprehensive data concerning this report visit socialprogressimperative.org.