2021 Social Risk Index

Euler Hermes is an insurance company that in 2020 created the Social Risk Index.  This was to measure business climates across the globe, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, during one of the worst recessions since WWII. 

There are 12 factors and each country gets a score from 1-100 for each of the 12, the scores are combined for an overall score.  The 12 factors that are evaluated include trends in real GDP per capita growth, labour force participation, income inequality, public social spending on education, health and social protection, political stability, government effectiveness, corruption perception, trust in government levels of vulnerable employment, imports as a percentage of GDP, currency depreciation, and fiscal revenue as a percentage of GDP.  

All of this boils down to ranking countries according to potential economic and political instability during rapid change.

Last year, the USA came in at #23 and Czechland ranked #28. This year, Czechia came in at #19, while the USA is at #35.  The reason that Czechia jumped up nine places was the countries response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the stability of the labour market here despite Covid. 

Scandinavia topped the rankings as the countries usually do when it comes to any type of social score.  Europe did well with 16 countries in the top 20, and 13 of them are EU member countries.  New Zealand was the top placed country outside of Europe.  Most advanced economies saw improvements from last year but the USA, France, Portugal, and Greece all saw large declines.

Here are the 2021 rankings...

1. Denmark
2. Norway
3. Sweden
4. Switzerland
5. Finland
6. New Zealand
7. Germany
8. Austria
9. Luxembourg
10. Iceland
11. Canada
12. Ireland
13. Japan
14. Australia
15. Netherlands
16. Estonia
17. France
18. Portugal
19. Czechia
20. Slovenia

26. Slovakia

35. USA

The five lowest rankings belong to #181 Zimbabwe, #182 Nigeria, #183 Afghanistan, #184 Sudan, and #185 Democratic Republic of the Congo.