Numbers Games
Published May 2, 2016.
We're number one…! It may only be my imagination, but I think I'm hearing this less in America these days – a welcome trend in a country inclined to rest on its laurels. So, who really is numero uno? That depends, of course, on what you're measuring.
To avoid comparing apples and oranges, I've limited the comparisons to 21 high-income countries that are both members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and bigger than a bread box. (Sorry, Luxembourg and Iceland.) Note, by the way, I've included some measures (military expenditures, income equality) in which being first is not necessarily best.
| Income Per Capita | Life Expectancy | Infant Mortality | Income Equality | Gender Equality | Corruption | Math Skills | Military Expenditures | Economic Freedom | |
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| Australia | 7 | 4 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| Austria | 6 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 18 | 16 | 9 | 19 | 16 |
| Belgium | 12 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 16 | 18 |
| Canada | 10 | 7 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 4 |
| Denmark | 11 | 21 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 6 |
| Finland | 13 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
| France | 13 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 5 | 20 |
| Germany | 9 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 9 |
| Ireland | 4 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 5 |
| Israel | 21 | 3 | 11 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 1 | 17 |
| Japan | 16 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 17 | 12 |
| South Korea | 17 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| Netherlands | 5 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 10 |
| New Zealand | 18 | 13 | 9 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 15 | 1 |
| Norway | 1 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 10 | 14 |
| Spain | 20 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 |
| Sweden | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 22 | 14 | 13 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 3 |
| UK | 15 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 8 |
| U.S. | 3 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 7 |
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Sources: Income per capita (PPP, 2014): CIA Factbook; Life expectancy at birth (2015): CIA Factbook; Infant mortality under one year (2015): CIA Factbook; Income equality (Gini Index for household income): CIA Factbook (latest available dates); Gender equality Index (2014): UN Human Development Report; Corruption Perception Index (2014): Transparency International; Math Skills Index (2012): Program for International Student Assessment; Military expenditures as a % of GDP (2014): CIA Factbook; Economic Freedom Index (2015): Heritage Foundation