Kazakhstan down to 56th position, Russia climbs to 58th place in Prosperity Index
ASTANA. Nov 3 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan occupies 56th place in the Legatum Institute's 2015 Prosperity Index, being one position down since the previous year.
Norway retained the leading position; its first runner-ups are Switzerland, whose position was also changed, and Denmark. The top ten prosperous countries of the world also include New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Finland and Ireland.
The Central African Republic is at the bottom of the list.
The best ranking amongst former Soviet republics was posted by Latvia (40th position) and Lithuania (41st). Belarus was downgraded from the 53rd to the 63rd position, and Ukraine went down from the 63rd position to the 70th. Meanwhile, Russia climbed ten places to 58th place.
Kazakhstan is the leader amongst Central Asian republics. It is followed by Uzbekistan (57th), Kyrgyzstan (66th) and Tajikistan (91st). Turkmenistan is not included in the rating.
The Legatum Institute Prosperity Index has eight categories: economy, education, health, personal freedom, safety and security, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance and social capital.
The Prosperity Index involves 142 states, 96% of the global population and 99% of global GDP.