The U.S. ranks 16th in manufacturing compensation costs

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2011 the total hourly compensation costs in American manufacturing was $35.53 per hour, which makes the United States rank sixteenth out of thirty-four countries ranked in that category. Norway ranks first, with a compensation cost of $64.15 per hour.

The U.S. ranks 12th in prosperity

According to the Legatum Institute, the United States ranks twelfth in prosperity, out of one hundred forty-two countries ranked in that category. Norway ranks first. The eleven countries more prosperous than the United States are:

1. Norway
2. Denmark
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. New Zealand
6. Canada
7. Finland
8. Netherlands
9. Switzerland
10. Ireland
11. Luxembourg

The U.S. ranks 22nd in freedom of the press

According to Freedom House, the United States has a press freedom score of 18, which makes the United States tied for twenty-second with Estonia and Jamaica out of one hundred ninety-seven countries ranked in that category. Finland, Norway, and Sweden are tied for first, with a press freedom score of 10.

 

The U.S. ranks 11th in happiness

According the the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the United States ranks eleventh in the “Average Cantril Ladder,” a measure of happiness. Denmark ranks first. The top ten countries are:

1. Denmark
2. Finland
3. Norway
4. Netherlands
5. Canada
6. Switzerland
7. Sweden
8. New Zealand
9. Australia
10. Ireland

The U.S. ranks 3rd in human development

According to the United Nations’ 2011 Human Development Index, the United States has a human development score of 0.910, which makes the United States tied for third with Netherlands in that category. Norway ranks first, with a human development score of 0.943.

The indicators that the United Nations considers when building its index are health, education, and income.

The U.S. ranks 17th in credit worthiness

According to Standard & Poor’s, the U.S. has a credit rating of AA+, which makes the U.S. rank seventeenth in the world in that category. Sixteen economies rank higher, at AAA. They are: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

The U.S. ranks 34th in Children’s Index

According to the Save the Children publication, State of the World’s Mothers 2010, the United States ranks thirty-fourth out of forty-three “more developed countries” in the “Children’s Index”ranking. The top ten countries are:

1. Sweden
2. Italy
3. Germany
4. France
5. Austria
6. Iceland
7. Japan (tied with Iceland)
8. Portugal
9. Luxembourg
10. Norway (tied with Luxembourg)

The U.S. ranks 23rd in Women’s Index

According to Save the Children’s publication, State of the World’s Mothers 2010, the United States ranks twenty-third out of forty-three “more developed countries” in the “Women’s Index” ranking. The top ten countries are:

1. Australia
2. Norway
3. New Zealand
4. Denmark
5. Iceland
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Ireland
9. Netherlands
10. United Kingdom

The U.S. ranks 28th in Mothers’ Index

According to Save the Children’s publication, State of the World’s Mothers 2010, the United States ranks twentieth eighth out of forty-three “more developed countries” in its “Mothers’ Index” ranking. The top ten countries are:

1. Norway
2. Australia
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. Denmark
6. New Zealand
7. Finland
8. Netherlands
9. Belgium
10. Germany (tie with Belgium)

The U.S. ranks 46th in civil liberties

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2010, the United States has a civil liberties score of 8.53 out of a possible score of 10.00. This makes the United States tied for forty-sixth in democracy with Italy, South Africa, France, and Hungary. Several countries tied for first with a score of 10.00, including Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland and Uruguay. The United States has the lowest civil liberties of any fully democratic country.