Natural Capital Index

The Natural Capital Index

The Natural Capital of a country is the given physical environment and its climatic conditions, paired with the availability and intactness of natural resources and sufficient water. The Natural Capital of a country reflects its ability to sustain the livelihoods and health of the population, and the economy, now and into the future. The Natural Capital Index is calculated based on 42 quantitative data indicators derived from international organisations.

A nation’s natural capital is to some extent a given value: there are limitations to human ability to improve the availability and quality of the natural capital (e.g. water resources).
However, if managed sustainable with a view to not only preserve, but improve biodiversity can have a significant positive impact on the natural capital.
On the other hand, continued exploitation and extension of human activities diminish the existing Natural Capital. Natural Capital is easily damaged, but difficult to build.

High-ranking countries are characterised by abundant water availability, the source of a rich biodiversity. While some of these countries currently may have a deficit in social, intellectual and governance capital, their Natural Capital would allow them to develop sustainable competitive economies 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 tend to score higher.

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 purely quantitative indicators, forming six clusters – water, other natural resources, biodiversity, food security, infrastructure and nature, and exposure to climate risks.

Natural Capital World Map

State of the World – Natural Capital

The global average Natural Capital Score is 42, a gap of 58 to a perfect sustainable and competitive state. Countries with high availability of water resources – both in surface water and through evenly distributed rainwater, and comparable low population density tend to achieve higher scores compared to drier, densely populated countries. However, large scale initiatives such a re-greening strategic areas can have a positive impact on natural capital.

While the trend data has improved over the past 10 years, still only 39% of all indicators across all nations show positive development, while 48% are negative, and 13% do not show a clear trend in either direction. The high percentage of negative developments suggest a high chance of further loss of biodiversity. Given the absence of meaningful policies that protect the remaining biosphere and incentivise green alternatives we unfortunately have to expect a further decline of environmental parameters into the future – which in turn will affect other pillars of sustainable competitiveness.

Global Natural Capital Scores

Lowest

Global Average

Global Best

Ideal World

Global Natural Capital Trends

Positive Trends

No Trend

Negative Trends

The Natural Capital Index 2024 – Key Observations

The 2024 Natural Capital Index is led by Bhutan, with Bosnia, Brazil, and Laos following closely. Countries in South America, benefiting from their extensive biodiversity, consistently achieve high scores in natural capital.
Scandinavian nations rank among the top 30 globally due to their low population density, high forest coverage, and abundant freshwater resources.
Similarly, several African countries within the tropical belt, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon, exhibit relatively high rankings, reflecting their significant natural resource endowments.
In contrast, the world’s two most populous nations, India (ranked 107th) and China (ranked 141st), face substantial challenges. Factors such as arid climates, high population densities, and significant levels of natural resource depletion threaten these countries’ long-term capacity to sustain their populations.
Additionally, other highly populous nations in less developed regions, including Pakistan, Egypt, and Iran, perform poorly on the Natural Capital Index. These results raise concerns regarding their ability to support growing populations, particularly in the context of escalating climate change impacts and environmental disruption.

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

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GSCI 2024

Download the report: [download id="11718"](PDF)
Download the data: [download id="11713"](XLSX)

Download the report: The Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index 2024 (PDF) Download the data: GSCI Scores 2024 (XLSX)

Sustainable & Competitive

Achieving Sustainable Competitiveness: policies for more sustainable AND more prosperous societies: Sustainable. Competitive.