Social Capital Index

The Social Capital of a nation is the extent of social stability and the well-being (perceived or real) of the entire population. Social Capital generates social cohesion and a certain level of consensus, which in turn delivers a stable environment for the economy, and prevents natural resources from being over-exploited.

In addition to local historical and cultural influences, the social consensus in a society is affected by several factors: health care systems and their universal availability/affordability (measuring physical health); income and asset equality, which are correlated to crime levels; demographic structure (to assess the future generational balance within a society); freedom of expression and freedom from fear; and the absence of violent conflicts. Only in these circumstances can the economy flourish, generate value, jobs and income for the population. The Socail Capital Index is based on indicators related to the following clusters:

Social Capital World Map

State of the World – Social Capital

The global average Social Capital Score is 44 – a gap of 56 to a perfect state – while the global best is 66. Not surprisingly, the nations in the North (particularly Scandinavia) are significantly ahead of countries in the South (particular Africa and Central Asia).

Only 48% of all indicators across all nations show positive development, while 38% are negative, and 14% do not show a clear trend in either direction. The high number of negative developments reflects the decline of equality across the globe.

Global Social Capital Scores

Lowest

Global Average

Global Best

Ideal World

Global Social Capital Trends

Positive Trends

No Trend

Negative Trends

The Social Capital Index 2024 – Key Observations

The Social Capital Index is topped by Japan, followed by the Netherlands, France, Iceland and Norway. The remaining Scandinavian nations are also in the top 10.
The top 30 of the Social Capital sub-index is dominated by Western European countries and the Baltics – except for Japan (1) and South Korea (17), and the United Arab Emirates (25)
The USA, due to comparable high crime rates, low availability of health services, and rising inequality, is ranked 118
China is ranked 43, India 89, Nigeria 109, and Brazil 179
The highest ranked South American countries are Uruguay (68), followed by Argentina (71), Peru (86); the highest-ranking African nations are Senegal (56), Madagascar (76), and Kenya (78)
Most African nations, particular within and south of the Sahel zone, are at the bottom of this list, due to a combination of low availability of health care services and child mortality, limited freedom of expression, and unstable human rights situation

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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.

2024 Social Capital Ranking

Japan	1	64.99
Netherlands	2	62.31
France	3	62.19
Iceland	4	61.04
Norway	5	60.94
Slovenia	6	60.91
Denmark	7	59.62
Belgium	8	59.30
Sweden	9	59.29
Switzerland	10	58.57
Spain	11	58.50
Timor-Leste	12	58.40
Italy	13	58.29
Finland	14	57.95
Portugal	15	56.82
Ireland	16	56.79
Korea	17	56.73
Czechia	18	56.19
Cyprus	19	55.98
Estonia	20	55.94
Austria	21	55.88
Luxembourg	22	55.22
Slovakia	23	54.74
Germany	24	53.89
United Arab Emirates	25	53.60
Poland	26	53.01
Moldova	27	52.52
Albania	28	52.39
Montenegro	29	51.44
Latvia	30	51.38
Armenia	31	51.20
Lithuania	32	51.08
Australia	33	50.78
Croatia	34	50.71
United Kingdom	35	50.56
Belarus	36	50.28
Israel	37	50.18
Kyrgyzstan	38	50.17
Maldives	39	50.15
Greece	40	49.67
Romania	41	49.44
Serbia	42	49.42
China	43	49.41
Bhutan	44	49.38
Viet Nam	45	49.37
Malta	46	49.28
Nepal	47	49.16
Sri Lanka	48	49.03
North Macedonia	49	49.02
Canada	50	48.79
Kosovo	51	48.50
Liechtenstein	52	48.42
Ethiopia	53	48.28
Kazakhstan	54	48.11
Mongolia	55	48.05
Senegal	56	47.87
New Zealand	57	47.70
Bulgaria	58	47.60
Singapore	59	47.26
Ukraine	60	46.51
Hungary	61	46.37
Indonesia	62	46.32
Philippines	63	45.76
Uzbekistan	64	45.18

Cambodia	65	45.09
Bangladesh	66	44.91
Andorra	67	44.83
Uruguay	68	44.66
Thailand	69	44.65
Georgia	70	44.33
Argentina	71	44.30
Qatar	72	43.95
Kuwait	73	43.85
Azerbaijan	74	43.79
Bosnia and Herzegovina	75	43.76
Madagascar	76	43.72
Niger	77	43.47
Kenya	78	43.35
Tanzania	79	43.34
Sao Tome and Principe	80	43.20
Myanmar	81	42.72
Trinidad and Tobago	82	42.36
Seychelles	83	42.33
Malawi	84	42.24
Saudi Arabia	85	42.05
Peru	86	42.00
Mauritius	87	41.93
Guinea	88	41.85
India	89	41.60
Algeria	90	41.52
Cabo Verde	91	41.39
Malaysia	92	41.33
Rwanda	93	41.30
Costa Rica	94	41.11
Chile	95	41.08
Ecuador	96	41.01
Burkina Faso	97	40.95
El Salvador	98	40.94
Ghana	99	40.85
Guinea-Bissau	100	40.83
Sierra Leone	101	40.80
Russian Federation	102	40.65
Gambia	103	40.54
Burundi	104	40.42
Tunisia	105	40.18
Chad	106	39.69
Tonga	107	39.61
Oman	108	39.36
Nigeria	109	39.07
Bolivia	110	38.93
Djibouti	111	38.89
Benin	112	38.84
Jordan	113	38.68
Côte d'Ivoire	114	38.55
Paraguay	115	38.15
Vanuatu	116	38.11
Barbados	117	37.94
United States of America	118	37.89
Dominican Republic	119	37.88
Brunei Darussalam	120	37.87
Bahrain	121	37.63
Togo	122	37.50
Eritrea	123	37.45
Congo	124	37.27
Namibia	125	37.24
Zambia	126	37.22
Syrian Arab Republic	127	37.15
Lebanon	128	36.93

Lao	129	36.88
Guyana	130	36.70
Mozambique	131	36.69
Iran	132	36.55
Antigua and Barbuda	133	36.52
Palestine, State of	134	36.49
Liberia	135	36.43
Uganda	136	36.40
Fiji	137	36.40
Solomon Islands	138	36.30
Turkmenistan	139	36.22
Cameroon	140	36.14
Grenada	141	35.99
Jamaica	142	35.94
Colombia	143	35.88
Comoros	144	35.73
Panama	145	35.69
Turkey	146	35.47
Cuba	147	35.44
Mexico	148	35.39
Venezuela	149	35.18
Zimbabwe	150	35.17
Congo DR	151	35.07
Haiti	152	35.03
Mali	153	34.92
Suriname	154	34.67
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	155	34.43
Iraq	156	34.39
Tajikistan	157	34.31
Kiribati	158	34.06
Egypt	159	33.90
Libya	160	33.77
Gabon	161	33.70
Morocco	162	33.61
Mauritania	163	33.25
Lesotho	164	33.25
Pakistan	165	33.20
Guatemala	166	32.93
Samoa	167	32.83
Botswana	168	32.58
Central African Republic	169	32.42
Sudan	170	32.10
Saint Kitts and Nevis	171	32.03
Angola	172	31.84
Equatorial Guinea	173	31.71
Nicaragua	174	31.69
South Sudan	175	31.57
Marshall Islands	176	31.32
Honduras	177	31.20
Tuvalu	178	30.98
Brazil	179	30.69
Belize	180	30.30
Papua New Guinea	181	30.22
Yemen	182	30.03
Dominica	183	29.47
Micronesia	184	29.41
Saint Lucia	185	29.19
South Africa	186	29.13
Somalia	187	28.96
Palau	188	28.76
Bahamas	189	28.63
Afghanistan	190	27.20
Eswatini	191	24.19

Social Capital Index

Social Capital Index

Social Capital World Map

State of the World – Social Capital

Global Social Capital Scores

Global Social Capital Trends

The Social Capital Index 2024 – Key Observations

Quick links

GSCI 2024

Sustainable & Competitive

2024 Social Capital Ranking