The World Has Fallen Into Its First Social Progress Recession

According to the 2024 Social Progress Index, 4 out of 5 people in the world live in a country where social progress is stagnating or declining. The index is published by the Social Progress Imperative, a US-based non-profit.

This decline is happening as we head into the biggest election year in history, with more than half of the world's population, four billion people, heading to the polls. As 4 out of 5 people in the world live in countries making no progress or going backwards in social progress, 2024 will prove a crucial year to hold elected officials to account to address declines in health, education, rights, and other crucial areas that impact the well-being of people.

The 2024 Social Progress Index also shows:
The United States' social progress has declined since 2011, and, as a result, the US has sunk to 29th place and in the second tier of world social progress. The US is one of only four countries to see an overall decline in social progress since 2011, alongside the United Kingdom, Syria and Venezuela. The US scores poorly in Safety, where it ranks 70th in the world behind countries that include Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. This is largely due to very high rates of interpersonal violence where it is ranked 110th and intimate partner violence where it is ranked 88th

The United Kingdom has fallen into the second tier of social progress for the first time. The United Kingdom has declined in social progress since 2011. It has dropped 8 places in the ranks to be 21st in the world and has been relegated into the second tier of social progress.

Denmark ranks first on the 2024 Social Progress Index, with a score of 90.38 while South Sudan is at the bottom, at 170th, with a score of 25.93. Germany, ranking tenth with a score of 87.64, is the top performing G7 country.

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The Social Progress Imperative develops data-driven tools that measure the true state of our society on issues that matter most - are people healthy and safe, do they live in an inclusive society, do they have access to opportunity, and more.

The Social Progress Index measures how well countries and communities convert their resources into social and environmental outcomes that impact people's lives every day. Supported by a global network of local partners and advocates in more than 50 countries, subnational Social Progress Indexes have helped us understand the lived experiences of more than 2.7 billion people.

Explore the reports and join the conversation at socialprogress.org

This release was published on openPR.