Legatum Institute: Iran Ranks 118th in Well-Being Index Among 149 Countries

The annual report of the Legatum Institute, based in London, assesses the well-being status in various countries around the world, ranking New Zealand, Norway, and Finland as the top three, while the Central African Republic, Afghanistan, and Yemen occupy the last three positions. In this year's report, which is the tenth annual assessment by the Legatum Institute, Iran's well-being status remains among the bottom thirty-five countries, similar to the reports of the past decade. Iranians endure some of the worst governments and performances in personal freedom globally. In the 2016 report, Iran was ranked 118th out of 149 countries assessed this year. Last year, the well-being index for Iran was ranked 106th out of 142 countries. The annual report categorizes the well-being and prosperity of countries based on evaluations of eight areas, which this year has expanded to nine areas including: economic quality, business environment, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, social capital, and environment. In the 2016 report, both economic quality and business environment in Iran were ranked 114th, governance was at the bottom of the table at 136th, education was at 71st, health at 92nd, safety and security at a low 120th, personal freedom at the very bottom at 145th, social capital at 74th, and environmental status at 111th. In this year's assessment, education at 71st and social capital at 74th received the highest scores for Iran, while personal freedom at 145th and governance at 136th received the lowest scores. The 2016 Legatum report noted that Iranians endure some of the worst governments and performances in personal freedom in the world, and these two areas have kept the overall happiness index in Iran at a low level. This year's list shows New Zealand, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and the United Kingdom as the top ten countries in terms of well-being. The Legatum Institute is a private think tank in London that began its activities in 2007 and publishes its annual assessment of living conditions and prosperity in countries worldwide in a report titled 'Prosperity Index.'