Regional Analysis: Europe
Western European countries all place in the top 30 of the Index with the exception of Greece, which ranks 40th. Four of the top seven places in the 2011 Prosperity Index are occupied by Nordic countries, with Norway and Denmark placing first and second respectively. The Central and Eastern European countries are more scattered, ranging from Slovenia at 22nd to Moldova at 79th.
On the whole, Western and Northern Europe have remained stable, though both Italy and Greece fell four places over the last two years. The situation is more unsettled in Eastern Europe, with Ukraine, Latvia and Romania each dropping at least 10 positions since 2009.
What is surprising is an unexpected decline in personal freedom in certain countries. Two of the Nordic countries, Finland and Sweden, have seen a significant decrease in their scores over the last two years. This is mainly due to lower levels of tolerance for immigrants and ethnic minorities.
A similar pattern can be discerned in most of the Eastern European countries, where citizens express not only lower tolerance for immigrants and minorities but also less satisfaction with their freedom of choice. Moreover, Freedom House has downgraded both Ukraine and Latvia in terms of civil liberties. This is reflected in the Index; Ukraine fell from 62nd in 2009 to 98th in 2011 in the Personal Freedom ranking. Similarly, Latvia fell from 51st to 81st in the same period.
A more mixed picture emerges among Western European countries, with Greece, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, and Switzerland displaying lower Personal Freedom scores, and the rest displaying varying degrees of improvement.