Social Progress Insights Across The World’s Regions

Social Progress Insights is a series of short briefs aiming to provide insights on the current state of the world based on the Social Progress Index.

Social Progress Insights Across The World’s Regions

In this Social Progress Insights series, we explore the World’s regions. This report was made with data from the 2022 Social Progress Index. If you are interested in the latest results of the index, please visit our main page.

The 2022 Social Progress Index (SPI) fully ranks 169 countries. In principle, the unit of measurement for the global SPI is a country however, population-weighted averages allow for the consolidation of country-level scores to the regional level. The 2022 SPI categorizes the ranked countries into eight geographical regions. Regional SPI scores offer a broader perspective for the analysis of global social progress. Evaluating regional SPI scores unveils patterns of convergence as well as inter/intra-regional disparities.

In this Social Progress Insights series, we explore the World’s regions. This report was made with data from the 2022 Social Progress Index. If you are interested in the latest results of the index, please visit our main page.

The 2022 Social Progress Index (SPI) fully ranks 169 countries. In principle, the unit of measurement for the global SPI is a country however, population-weighted averages allow for the consolidation of country-level scores to the regional level. The 2022 SPI categorizes the ranked countries into eight geographical regions. Regional SPI scores offer a broader perspective for the analysis of global social progress. Evaluating regional SPI scores unveils patterns of convergence as well as inter/intra-regional disparities.

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Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

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According to the Global Social Progress Index, since 2011, the European Union has improved on social progress while the US has declined. However, this is largely due to the US backslide as opposed to the EU making great strides. As we see, social progress has stalled across Europe with the most significant decreases in Austria (-0.77), Lithuania (-0.62), Spain (-0.49), Slovakia (-0.47) and Croatia (-0.41).

In the UK the social progress has declined by 0.39 points since 2011 and it has fallen 8 places in the ranks since 2011 to 21st in 2023. As in the US, the UK decline is largely driven by declining rights and inclusiveness.

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Download the insigths

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Download the insigths

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Download the insigths

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Download the insigths

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Download the insigths

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Download the insights

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

DoWNLOAD THE INSIGHTS

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Download the insigths

Key Insights

Key Insights

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Our Findings

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Finding 2

Significant disparity in social progress across the regions of the world is observed. While North America (85.0 points) and Europe (80.2 points) outperform other regions, South Asia (58.4 points) and Sub- Saharan Africa (50.8 points) are obvious laggards.

Most regions are lacking in the component of inclusiveness. It is a particular bottleneck for Middle East & North African countries.

Generally, regions with higher income countries have higher average social progress with marginal difference in SPI scores – Middle East Arabian countries being a striking anomaly. Regions with lower income countries have noticeably higher disparity in social progress.

Although in the past decade social progress has not receded in any of the regions, improvement has been more dynamic in 2011-2017 than in 2017-2022.

Finding 2

Finding 3

Finding 4
Finding 5

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About the Social Progress Index

The Social Progress Index® (SPI) is a well-established measure, published since 2013, that is meant to catalyse improvement and drive action by presenting social outcome data in a useful and reliable way. Composed of twelve components and three dimensions, the Social Progress Index can be used to benchmark success and provide a holistic, transparent, outcome-based measure of a country’s wellbeing that is independent of economic indicators. 

About the Social Progress Index

The Social Progress Index® (SPI) is a well-established measure, published since 2013, that is meant to catalyse improvement and drive action by presenting social outcome data in a useful and reliable way. Composed of twelve components and three dimensions, the Social Progress Index can be used to benchmark success and provide a holistic, transparent, outcome-based measure of a country’s wellbeing that is independent of economic indicators. 

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Recap of the launch event

Resources

Catch the highlights of the launch event in this short 5-minute video.

Hear the key comments from the European Commission and other top leaders about the new edition of the EU Regional Social Progress Index.

In this Social Progress Insights series, we explore the World’s regions. This report was made with data from the 2022 Social Progress Index. If you are interested in the latest results of the index, please visit our main page.

The 2022 Social Progress Index (SPI) fully ranks 169 countries. In principle, the unit of measurement for the global SPI is a country however, population-weighted averages allow for the consolidation of country-level scores to the regional level. The 2022 SPI categorizes the ranked countries into eight geographical regions. Regional SPI scores offer a broader perspective for the analysis of global social progress. Evaluating regional SPI scores unveils patterns of convergence as well as inter/intra-regional disparities.

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