The Natural Capital Index
Natural Capital Index
The Natural Capital of a country is defined by the natural physical environment. The Natural Capital model incorporates the essence of resources that allow a country to be completely self-sustaining: land, water, climate, biodiversity, food production and capacity, and energy and mineral resources. In addition, the level of depletion or degradation of those resources that could endanger future self-sufficiency are taken into account to reflect the full picture of the available natural capital.
Natural Capital index World Map
The Natural Capital Index is based on 38 quantitative indicators, forming 6 clusters – water, other natural resources, biodiversity. food security, infrastructure and nature, and exposure to climate risks.
All indicators are dived from international agencies – World Bank, UNEP, IUCN, and are analysed in absolute terms as well as trend evaluation.
The Natural Capital Index 2024
Key findings
- The Natural Capital Index 2024 is topped by Bhutana, followed by Bosnia, Brazil, and Laos
- South America nations, with their large biodiversity pool, score high in Natural Capital
- Scandinavian countries, thanks to low population density, high forest coverage and the availability of water are all ranked in the top 30s,
- African countries in the tropical belt are ranked fairly high – including the two Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon
- The two most populated countries, India (107) and China (141) are both affected by a combination of arid climate, high population density and high natural depletion levels, raising concerns over those countries’ ability to self-sustain their large populations in the long term.
- Several countries with a high population in the less developed World (for example Pakistan, Egypt, Iran) are performing low in Natural Capital, raising concerns about the future ability to sustain the population in the face of rapidly increasing climate disruption
State of the World
51% of all indicators show further deteriorating developments, while only 40% are positive. Given the absence of meaningful policies that protect the remaining biosphere and incentivises green alternatives we unfortunately have to expect a further decline of environmental parameters into the future – which in term will affect other pillars of sustainable competitiveness.
Observations
High-ranking countries are characterised by the availability of abundant water combined with tropical climate, rich biodiversity and availability of other natural resources. The highest scoring countries are mostly located in tropical areas, underscoring the overarching importance of the availability of sufficient water. While these countries currently may lack social, intellectual and governance capital, their Natural Capital would allow them to develop sustainable competitiveness over time. A certain correlation with the level of human activities and population density can also be observed: large countries with a comparably small population density and rich biodiversity are on top of the Natural Capital ranking (North America, Scandinavia, Brazil).
2024 Natural Capital Ranking
| Country | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bhutan | 1 | 59.86 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2 | 59.63 |
| Brazil | 3 | 58.31 |
| Lao | 4 | 58.14 |
| Peru | 5 | 57.37 |
| Uruguay | 6 | 57.02 |
| Cambodia | 7 | 56.78 |
| Canada | 8 | 56.64 |
| Albania | 9 | 56.57 |
| Sweden | 10 | 56.42 |
| Finland | 11 | 56.26 |
| Congo DR | 12 | 55.48 |
| Guyana | 13 | 55.15 |
| Fiji | 14 | 55.14 |
| Venezuela | 15 | 54.93 |
| Latvia | 16 | 54.73 |
| Cameroon | 17 | 54.27 |
| Paraguay | 18 | 53.99 |
| Central African Republic | 19 | 53.84 |
| Bolivia | 20 | 53.37 |
| Norway | 21 | 53.19 |
| Colombia | 22 | 53.01 |
| Myanmar | 23 | 52.69 |
| Russian Federation | 24 | 51.75 |
| Suriname | 25 | 51.74 |
| Sierra Leone | 26 | 51.70 |
| Ghana | 27 | 51.66 |
| Guinea | 28 | 51.37 |
| Belize | 29 | 51.30 |
| Congo | 30 | 51.04 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 31 | 51.03 |
| Iceland | 32 | 50.80 |
| Panama | 33 | 50.78 |
| Tonga | 34 | 50.72 |
| Estonia | 35 | 50.63 |
| Gabon | 36 | 50.56 |
| Poland | 37 | 50.55 |
| Ukraine | 38 | 50.47 |
| Romania | 39 | 50.14 |
| Nicaragua | 40 | 49.73 |
| Papua New Guinea | 41 | 49.51 |
| Serbia | 42 | 49.47 |
| Mozambique | 43 | 49.31 |
| Croatia | 44 | 49.24 |
| Bulgaria | 45 | 49.01 |
| Micronesia | 46 | 48.99 |
| Slovakia | 47 | 48.98 |
| New Zealand | 48 | 48.88 |
| Lithuania | 49 | 48.85 |
| Georgia | 50 | 48.77 |
| Angola | 51 | 48.70 |
| Ecuador | 52 | 48.52 |
| Chile | 53 | 47.96 |
| Samoa | 54 | 47.95 |
| Portugal | 55 | 47.73 |
| Argentina | 56 | 47.64 |
| Togo | 57 | 47.43 |
| Timor-Leste | 58 | 47.40 |
| Viet Nam | 59 | 47.35 |
| Brunei Darussalam | 60 | 47.29 |
| Slovenia | 61 | 47.20 |
| Costa Rica | 62 | 47.19 |
| Nepal | 63 | 47.15 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 64 | 47.03 |
| Austria | 65 | 46.99 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 66 | 46.90 |
| Palau | 67 | 46.85 |
| Denmark | 68 | 46.42 |
| Liberia | 69 | 46.14 |
| Tanzania | 70 | 45.80 |
| Solomon Islands | 71 | 45.78 |
| United States of America | 72 | 45.71 |
| Zambia | 73 | 45.62 |
| Guatemala | 74 | 45.24 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 75 | 45.19 |
| Australia | 76 | 44.86 |
| Malaysia | 77 | 44.81 |
| Belarus | 78 | 44.78 |
| El Salvador | 79 | 44.75 |
| Honduras | 80 | 44.51 |
| Montenegro | 81 | 44.44 |
| Namibia | 82 | 44.27 |
| Switzerland | 83 | 44.03 |
| South Sudan | 84 | 44.01 |
| Thailand | 85 | 43.86 |
| Czechia | 86 | 43.79 |
| Greece | 87 | 43.71 |
| Chad | 88 | 43.53 |
| Cuba | 89 | 43.36 |
| Lesotho | 90 | 43.34 |
| Nigeria | 91 | 43.05 |
| North Macedonia | 92 | 42.93 |
| Indonesia | 93 | 42.83 |
| France | 94 | 42.75 |
| Ireland | 95 | 42.55 |
| Turkey | 96 | 42.29 |
| Vanuatu | 97 | 42.06 |
| Zimbabwe | 98 | 41.76 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 99 | 41.76 |
| Dominica | 100 | 41.74 |
| Japan | 101 | 41.67 |
| Uganda | 102 | 41.56 |
| Marshall Islands | 103 | 41.40 |
| Senegal | 104 | 41.35 |
| Niger | 105 | 41.05 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 106 | 40.99 |
| India | 107 | 40.99 |
| Comoros | 108 | 40.86 |
| Hungary | 109 | 40.76 |
| Sudan | 110 | 40.69 |
| Mali | 111 | 40.62 |
| Italy | 112 | 40.61 |
| Botswana | 113 | 40.51 |
| Sri Lanka | 114 | 40.39 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 115 | 40.38 |
| Benin | 116 | 40.34 |
| Seychelles | 117 | 40.01 |
| Luxembourg | 118 | 39.83 |
| Kosovo | 119 | 39.77 |
| Tuvalu | 120 | 39.71 |
| Mexico | 121 | 39.64 |
| Ethiopia | 122 | 39.60 |
| Malawi | 123 | 39.60 |
| Madagascar | 124 | 39.44 |
| Mongolia | 125 | 39.24 |
| United Kingdom | 126 | 39.20 |
| Azerbaijan | 127 | 39.19 |
| Spain | 128 | 39.06 |
| Bangladesh | 129 | 38.66 |
| Burkina Faso | 130 | 38.55 |
| Philippines | 131 | 38.51 |
| Burundi | 132 | 38.37 |
| Moldova | 133 | 38.29 |
| Afghanistan | 134 | 38.19 |
| Dominican Republic | 135 | 38.17 |
| Kiribati | 136 | 37.84 |
| Germany | 137 | 37.83 |
| Mauritius | 138 | 37.68 |
| Korea | 139 | 37.61 |
| Jamaica | 140 | 36.87 |
| China | 141 | 36.84 |
| Kazakhstan | 142 | 36.78 |
| Tajikistan | 143 | 36.34 |
| Kenya | 144 | 36.26 |
| Singapore | 145 | 36.15 |
| Saint Lucia | 146 | 36.00 |
| Rwanda | 147 | 35.79 |
| Grenada | 148 | 35.63 |
| Belgium | 149 | 35.60 |
| Liechtenstein | 150 | 35.38 |
| Pakistan | 151 | 35.19 |
| Saudi Arabia | 152 | 35.07 |
| Bahamas | 153 | 34.94 |
| Eritrea | 154 | 34.87 |
| Libya | 155 | 34.49 |
| South Africa | 156 | 34.37 |
| Uzbekistan | 157 | 34.10 |
| Andorra | 158 | 34.09 |
| Armenia | 159 | 34.03 |
| Eswatini | 160 | 34.03 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 161 | 33.87 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 162 | 33.58 |
| Gambia | 163 | 33.53 |
| Cyprus | 164 | 33.48 |
| Algeria | 165 | 33.27 |
| Haiti | 166 | 33.27 |
| Netherlands | 167 | 33.26 |
| Barbados | 168 | 33.22 |
| Djibouti | 169 | 32.58 |
| Syrian Arab Republic | 170 | 32.34 |
| Turkmenistan | 171 | 32.16 |
| Yemen | 172 | 32.15 |
| Morocco | 173 | 31.73 |
| Oman | 174 | 30.89 |
| Lebanon | 175 | 30.10 |
| Malta | 176 | 30.05 |
| Maldives | 177 | 29.73 |
| Iran | 178 | 29.61 |
| Mauritania | 179 | 29.49 |
| Egypt | 180 | 29.26 |
| Tunisia | 181 | 28.92 |
| Bahrain | 182 | 28.46 |
| Iraq | 183 | 28.15 |
| Cabo Verde | 184 | 27.89 |
| Israel | 185 | 27.62 |
| Somalia | 186 | 27.41 |
| United Arab Emirates | 187 | 27.37 |
| Jordan | 188 | 26.26 |
| Kuwait | 189 | 25.49 |
| Qatar | 190 | 25.46 |
| Palestine, State of | 191 | 22.77 |
GSCI 2024
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