Denmark 3rd most prosperous nation in the world

Denmark is ranked 3rd on the Legatum Institute’s international annual Prosperity Index for 2015, which ranks countries based on their economic strength, but also on seven other indicators: Education, health, governance, personal freedom, entrepreneurship/opportunity, social capital and safety/security, writes Seven59.dk.

Norway leads the way, followed by Switzerland, while Nordic neighbours Sweden (5th) and Finland (9th) are also in the top-10.

Whilst pinpointing the overall prosperity of the Nordic region, the index also notes the ‘Nordic malaise:’ It states: “The countries are being let down by their poor labour market performance. During the crisis they, along with many other advanced economies, suffered a sharp rise in unemployment. Yet, while other countries have seen unemployment fall – often to pre-crisis levels – it has either not budged or declined only slowly in many Nordic countries.”

Hidden unemployment

“Furthermore, and perhaps of more concern, are the lower levels of employment in the Nordic countries. As research shows, there is evidence that many Nordic countries are ‘hiding’ unemployment. Early retirement is one of the main, but not the sole, tactics used in the Nordic welfare systems to hide true unemployment. Another example is that unemployed individuals participate in labour market programmes with limited prospects of gaining employment, or are excluded from the labour force for various reasons.”

See the full report on Denmark and the Nordic countries here.

universitypost@adm.ku.dk

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