Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark top list of countries contributing most to good of humanity as a whole

For the second year in a row, the UK has slipped in the ranks of the Good Country Index: it still ranks as doing more good and less harm than 150 other countries, with Afghanistan in last place, but is now in eighth place after Ireland.

The top three are the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark, on the index created using 35 separate indicators to rank the countries that contribute most to the greater good of humanity rather than for their own citizens.

Only three years ago the UK held fourth place in the index, and was ranked top for its global contribution to science and technology, thanks to its Nobel prizes, scientific journals and other international publications it has produced. It lost that status the following year, and now sits below Ireland, which has climbed back into the top 10, rated first for its contribution to international prosperity and equality, and second for its contribution to international health and wellbeing.

In September the UK also slipped from the top 10 most charitable countries, in the separate index maintained by the Charities Aid Foundation, which measures charitable giving and volunteering, after a surge of giving from developing countries. Earlier this year it only made a fairly miserable 19th place in an index of happy countries produced by the United Nations: Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland were the happiest.

Simon Anholt, the creator of the Good Country Index, said a successful country was one that “contributes to the good of humanity”.

“Of course, it must serve the interests of its own people, but never at the expense of other populations or our shared resources: this is the new law of human survival, and it’s a balance which is far more easily maintained than many people imagine,” he added.

The top 10 “good countries” are: the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, United Kingdom, Austria and Norway.