Australia is the most successful country at promoting well-rounded national prosperity, and narrowly leads Austria and Finland in the 2008 Legatum Prosperity Index, published today. The Index defines prosperity as a holistic combination of material wealth and life satisfaction, measuring how well nations are promoting both economic growth and quality of life. Yemen ranks last, following several African nations including Zambia and Zimbabwe.
 

The top ten countries in the Index represent multiple regions including five European countries (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Switzerland), four from the Asia Pacific region (Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand) and one from North America (United States).
 

The Prosperity Index assesses 104 nations around the world by measuring 44 different indicators of both economic competitiveness and live ability. Full rankings are available at www.prosperity.com.
 

Australia leads the Index because of its strong performance in education, governance, and promoting entrepreneurship. It has reinvented itself as a wealthy service-oriented economy with good scores on livability indicators, including health, charitable giving and effective governance. Strong norms of civic participation, robust health, and plenty of leisure time contribute to the high livability rating.

Source: prosperity.com