Key Finding

4. Prosperity is concentrated in the North Atlantic – for now

Sixteen of the top 20 most prosperous countries sit in North America and Europe – and two others (Australia and New Zealand) are the Pacific heirs of British commercial and political institutions. These 16 nations account for only 10 percent of the world’s population but 40 percent of world GDP.

INSIGHT: Expanding to the top 25 countries in the Prosperity Index, the group becomes only slightly more diverse and accounts for just 14 percent of the world's population. India and China, by contrast, make up 40 percent of the world’s population yet are ranked 45th and 75th respectively. The highest-ranked sub-Equatorial country in the Index – excluding Australia and New Zealand – is Uruguay at 33rd, and 10 of the bottom 20 countries are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.