Data considered include economic fundamentals, entrepreneurship and innovation, and safety & security.
Will Inboden, one of the writers of the report, writes in Foreign Policy:
"Though the country rankings themselves will produce few surprises -- Finland is 1st, and Zimbabwe is last at 104th -- the larger aim of the Prosperity Index is to inquire into the common factors behind countries with successful economies and happy citizens. Overall, the top tier is dominated by North Atlantic and Anglosphere countries, with 18 out of the top 20 nations being European, North American, or Australia and New Zealand. Countries that do well seem to have a mutually reinforcing set of goods including sound economies, limited and effective governments, and high levels of social capital."
Comments
Prosperity re outsourcing and environmental conditions
Not sure how we could be so prosperous given that our manufacturing has been sent overseas.
Environmental conditions must be considered when determining prosperity in any good analysis. How healthy are our forests and streams, how clean is our air and water?
Why the US might rank OK
It is not quite true that "our manufacturing has been sent overseas." Manufacturing output as a percent of GNP has actually been relatively stable in recent years. (See
http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/manufacturing... )
As far as environmental issues, the US is almost certainly behind many European countries- but still is better off than Third World countries where sanitation is problematic.