Vietnam
ranks fifth in the world and first in Asia in the 2016 Happy Planet Index drawn
up by the UK-based think tank New Economics Foundation.
The
country scored 40.3 points in the index that measures sustainable well-being in
140 countries to show how efficiently residents of different countries are
using environmental resources to lead long, happy lives.
The
index, constructed for a fourth time since 2006, was based on four elements,
including well-being, life expectancy, inequality of outcomes, and ecological
footprint.
Vietnam
had ranked second globally in 2012
It has a
population of nearly 90 million, with a life expectancy of 75.5 years and per
capita GDP of US$2,000.
According
to NEF, Vietnam, characterized by its mountains and tropical forests, is one of
just three countries in the top ten Happy Planet Index rankings with an
ecological footprint small enough to be considered environmentally sustainable.
Both
Vietnam and the Gambia have similar sized economies with similar levels of GDP
per capita, yet on average, people from Vietnam live more than 17 years longer.
Vietnam’s
inequality of outcomes rating, which measures inequality in well-being and life
expectancy scores within the country, is better than that of Costa Rica, which
ranked 1st for the third year.
School
enrolment is among the highest in the world at 98 percent in 2012, and the
number of colleges and universities continues to grow rapidly.
However,
NEF found that Vietnam’s ecological footprint has been rising steeply.
An
industry-led development path similar to its richer neighbor, Malaysia, would
likely see a massive increase in its per capita ecological footprint, which is
bad news for sustainability in the region, according to NEF.
The index
found wealthy western countries, often seen globally as representing success,
do not rank highly on the Happy Planet Index.
Instead,
several countries in Latin America and the Asia Pacific region lead the way by
achieving relatively high and fairly distributed life expectancy and well-being
with much smaller ecological footprints.
Following
Costa Rica with 44.7 points was Mexico with 40.7, Columbia and Vanuatu.
Chad was
ranked 140th, below Luxembourg and Togo.
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