According to the Global Social Progress Index (Premium), there has been a generalized improvement in Environmental Quality around the globe, as shown by the jump from a world score of 46 in 2011 to 49 in 2023, an average rhythm of 0.5% per annum. However, this tendency has slowed down recently, with an improvement of only 0.03 points in the component scale between 2022 and 2023.
The dynamic has not been homogenous everywhere: while in East Asian and Pacific countries, the average score weighted by country population has jumped 12.36% between 2011 and 2023, in Sub-Saharan Africa, it has declined by 0.19% over the 13 years.
The regional discrepancies are even more significant when assessing the year-on-year changes, as the Central Asian and Caucasus countries increased their score by 1.05% between 2022 and 2023. Still, South Asian countries have decreased their values by 0.29% on average in the same period.
In absolute terms, North America and Europe are the best performing regions in 2023 (scores of 69.7 and 69.4, respectively). Conversely, South Asia is the worst-performing region with a score of 30, followed by the Middle East and North Africa, which show a 40 average.
These numbers indicate a hopeful scenario for the quality of environmental conditions if the tendency of the last decade continues. However, with the relative slowing of the previous year and the low scores where most countries come from, there still is a long way to go to achieve a comfortable Environmental Quality worldwide.
Interested in getting more data insights?
Get premium access to the Global Social Progress Index and access regional data, country profiles, SPI vs GDP and more data and insights!
According to the Global Social Progress Index (Premium), there has been a generalized improvement in Environmental Quality around the globe, as shown by the jump from a world score of 46 in 2011 to 49 in 2023, an average rhythm of 0.5% per annum. However, this tendency has slowed down recently, with an improvement of only 0.03 points in the component scale between 2022 and 2023.
The dynamic has not been homogenous everywhere: while in East Asian and Pacific countries, the average score weighted by country population has jumped 12.36% between 2011 and 2023, in Sub-Saharan Africa, it has declined by 0.19% over the 13 years.
The regional discrepancies are even more significant when assessing the year-on-year changes, as the Central Asian and Caucasus countries increased their score by 1.05% between 2022 and 2023. Still, South Asian countries have decreased their values by 0.29% on average in the same period.
In absolute terms, North America and Europe are the best performing regions in 2023 (scores of 69.7 and 69.4, respectively). Conversely, South Asia is the worst-performing region with a score of 30, followed by the Middle East and North Africa, which show a 40 average.
These numbers indicate a hopeful scenario for the quality of environmental conditions if the tendency of the last decade continues. However, with the relative slowing of the previous year and the low scores where most countries come from, there still is a long way to go to achieve a comfortable Environmental Quality worldwide.
Interested in getting more data insights?
Get premium access to the Global Social Progress Index and access regional data, country profiles, SPI vs GDP and more data and insights!