The U.S. ranks 3rd in global competitiveness

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2014-15 Global Competitiveness Report, the United States has the third most competitive economy in the world. (The U.S. ranked fifth in 2013-14.) Switzerland has the most competitive economy. Global competitiveness is “defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity.”

Chart from the World Economic Forum.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2014-15/GCR_Rankings_2014-2015.pdf

The U.S. ranks 16th in where to be born

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States has a Where-to-be-Born Index score of 7.38, which makes the United States tied for sixteenth with Germany out of eighty countries ranked in that category. Switzerland ranks first, with a score of 8.22.

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 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 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 4th in global competitiveness

According to the World Economic Forum, in 2011 the United States had a global economic competitiveness score of 5.43, which makes the United States rank fourth in that category. Switzerland ranks first, with a score of 5.63.

The U.S.ranks 2nd in out of pocket health expenses

According to the OECD in 2008 the U.S. ranks second out of 33 countries in out of pocket health expenses.  The average per person out of pocket health expense in the U.S. is $912.  Switzerland ranked first with a cost of $1424 (U.S. dollars) per person.

Prepared by Laurie W.

The U.S. ranks 56th in women’s pay

According to Save the Children, in 2010 women in the United States earned, on average, 62% of what men earned, a ratio that makes the United States tied for fifty-sixth (with Switzerland) in that category. Mozambique ranks first, with women earning 90% of what men earned.

 

The U.S. ranks 62nd in prevalence of HIV

According to the World Bank, 0.6% of the U.S. population between the ages of 15 and 49 had HIV in 2007, which makes the United States tied for sixty-second with Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Switzerland, St. Lucia, and Uruguay in that category. Swaziland ranks first, with 26.1% of the population between the ages of 15 and 49 living with HIV.

In the world as a whole, 0.8% of the population between the ages of 15 and 49 are living with HIV.

The U.S. ranks 1st in women’s giant slalom

According to Olympic.org, American women have won three of the sixteen gold medals awarded in the Olympic women’s giant slalom, which is enough to make the United States tied for first with Switzerland in that category.