Kenya slides down to position 113 in world prosperity ranking

Kenya has fallen one spot in the world’s prosperity ranking to wound up at position 113 in the world out of a survey of 167 countries.

This according to the just released 2020 Prosperity Index by the Legatum Institute.

The index which comprises of three domains and 12 pillars represents 99 per cent of the world’s population showing how it has changed over the last decade.

Kenya’s score since the last ranking has however improved to 51 points from 46 points in 2010 with greater society inclusiveness pushing up the overall score and ranking from the 121^st spot a decade ago.

The country has registered notable gains in its scoring on institutional trust, macro-economic stability, health interventions, connectedness, property rights and investor protection.

Additional gains have been noted in areas such as civil & social participation and the creation of a conducive environment for business creation.

Nevertheless, Kenya has marked a dip in some pillars including political related terror and violence, freedom of assembly & association, freedom of speech & access to information, personal and family relationships and social networks.

Globally, prosperity in the year stood at an all time high before the entry of COVID-19 as a pandemic based on improved health, education, living conditions and open economies around the world.

The prosperity gains are however now threatened by the pandemic which threatens to wipe out gains made over the last decade in improving the quality of life.

“The emergence of the coronavirus has put all these areas under considerable strain, and the historic improvements are now at risk. In addition, recent deteriorations in prosperity, particularly in developed regions, highlight that progress cannot be taken for granted and we must not become complacent. We must take care to ensure that these hard fought for gains are protected,” noted Dr Stephen Brien, the Director of Policy at the Legatum Institute.

Countries in Scandinavia had a stranglehold in the top 10 countries for overall prosperity with Denmark taking the honours at top spot ahead of Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands.

Others on the top 10 included New Zealand, Germany, Luxembourg and Austria.

Meanwhile, countries facing constant conflict were on the foot of the rankings with South Sudan occupying the last slot.

Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, DRC, Afghanistan, Somalia, Chad, Yemen and the Central African Republic occupied the other nine bottom spots.