Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times:

A newly released global index finds that America falls short, along with other powerful countries, on what matters most: assuring a high quality of life for ordinary citizens.

The Social Progress Index for 2015 ranks the United States 16th in the world. We may thump our chests and boast that we’re No. 1, and in some ways we are. But, in important ways, we lag. …

The top countries in the 2015 Social Progress Index are Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, New Zealand and Canada. Of the 133 countries rated, Central African Republic is last, just after Chad and Afghanistan.

Top 16 Countries

Rankings in the 2015 Social Progress Index.

1 Norway

2 Sweden

3 Switzerland

4 Iceland

5 New Zealand

6 Canada

7 Finland

8 Denmark

9 Netherlands

10 Australia

11 Britain

12 Ireland

13 Austria

14 Germany

15 Japan

16 United States