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 25th in youth smoking rates

According to the most recent data available from the OECD, 8.1% of 15-year-old Americans smoke at least once a week.  This makes the United States rank twenty-fifth out of the twenty-five participating OECD countries.  Austria ranks first, at 27.1%.

Prepared by Michael J. Rooney

The U.S. ranks 11th in commitment to development

According to the Center for Global Development, in 2010 the United States had a Commitment to Development Index score of 5.4, which makes the United States tied for eleventh with Australia and Austria out of twenty-two ranked countries. Sweden ranked first, with a score of 7.0.

As reported here last year, in 2009 the United States ranked seventeenth, with a score of 4.7.

The U.S. ranks 22nd in investment freedom

According to the Heritage Foundation’s 2010 Index of Economic Freedom, the United States has an “investment freedom” score of 75, which makes the United States tied for twenty-second in that category with several other countries, including Armenia, Austria, Canada, El Salvador, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Singapore, and Uruguay. Ireland and Luxembourg are tied for first, with a score of 95.

The U.S. ranks 31st in quality of living

According to Mercer Consulting, the highest ranked city in the U.S. in terms of quality of living is Honolulu, with a quality of living score of 103.1, which makes the United States rank thirty-first in that category. Austria ranks first, with Vienna’s quality of living score of 108.6. (New York City is used as a base 100 for this score).

The U.S. ranks 10th in migration aid

According to the Center for Global Development’s Commitment to Development Index, 2009, the United States has a migration aid score of 5.3, which makes the United States tied for tenth with Greece in that category, out of twenty two ranked wealthy nations. Austria ranks first, with a score of 11.5.

According to the the CGD website, “The migration component of the CDI compares rich countries on how easy they make it for people from poor ones to immigrate, find work or get education, send home money–and even return home with new skills and capital.”

The U.S. ranks 1st in men’s figure skating gold

According to Olympics.org, American men have won six Olympic gold medals in individual figure skating, or 26.1% of all Olympic gold medals in the history of that event, which makes the United States tied for first with Russia in that category. Just seven countries–the United States, Russia, Sweden, Austria, the United Kingdom, Czechoslovakia, and Germany–have won all the gold medals in that event.

The U.S. ranks 14th in thriving population

According to a 2010 Gallup Global Wellbeing Survey, 57% of Americans report themselves as “thriving.” That was enough to make the United States tied for fourteenth with Austria, out of 155 ranked countries. Denmark ranked first, with 82% of respondents reporting themselves as thriving.

The U.S. ranks 13th in human development

According to the United Nations 2009 Human Development Report, the United States ranks thirteenth in human development, which is a drop of one place from last year. Norway ranks first. Here are the top 15 countries:

1) Norway

2) Australia

3) Iceland

4) Canada

5) Ireland

6) Netherlands

7) Sweden

8 France

9) Switzerland

10) Japan

11) Luxembourg

12) Finland

13) United States

14) Austria

15) Spain