January 03, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Singapore jumped to the sixth best place
to be born in the world this year while Malaysia was 36th, according to
an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) index of 80 nations that attempts
to measure which country provides the best opportunities for a healthy,
safe and prosperous life.
Southeast Asia’s third biggest economy hopped up two rungs from the
38th spot it occupied 25 years ago, when the EIU —- a sister company to
the influential Economist business and current affairs magazine
— first ran its “Where-to-be-born” index in 1988, edging out other
nations in the region except for Singapore.
File
photo of a tourist takes a picture of his companions in front of
Merlion Park in Singapore. The island republic is a better place than
Malaysia to be born, according to a new survey. — Reuters pic
A
quarter century later, the Lion City has shot to 6th place, up from
36th out of 48 countries in 1988 when it tied with East Germany before
the Berlin Wall crumbled.
Thailand ranked 50, the Philippines which placed 24th in 1988 dropped
to 63, tying with Sri Lanka, while Vietnam and Indonesia took 68th and
71st positions respectively.
Malaysia drew 6.62 out of a 10-point scorecard in the study of
life-satisfaction survey, which seeks to quantify how happy people say
they are based on a list of 11 economic and socio-political indicators
such as a country’s income per capita, cost of living, human rights,
life expectancy and literacy and education levels.
However, the methodology used to crunch up the numbers for its statistics has also changed from when the index was introduced.
In 1988, the Economist graded a total of 48 countries for
bonus points on cultural poverty, what it called the “philistine
factor”; and the degree to which a country is deemed to be “irrevocably
boring” in spite of its virtues and which it described as the “yawn
factor”.
In an accompanying article linked to the “Lottery of life” feature published in its January 1 online edition, the Economist explained that the study calculated life-satisfaction based on a 2006 Gallup Poll of 130 countries.
The Economist explained that its index also calculates the
EIU’s economic forecasts to 2030 — roughly when children born this year
will reach adulthood.
In the 2013 index, Switzerland beat out all other nations, including
the United States as the last world superpower, as the best place for
babies to be born.
Australia ranked runner-up, followed by the Scandinavian countries
Norway (3), Sweden (4) and Denmark (5) while New Zealand, the
Netherlands, Canada and Hong Kong rounded up the rest of the top 10.
Nigeria limped in last as the worst place for a baby to be born this year.
Malaysia had emerged as the world’s 51st happiest nation out of 156
countries surveyed and second to Singapore in Southeast Asia, in the
World Happiness Report released by the United Nations last April.
“Political freedom, strong social networks and an absence of
corruption are together more important than income in explaining
well-being differences,” the UN report stated then.
“At the individual level, good mental and physical health, someone to
count on, job security and stable families are crucial,” it added.
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