Study: Romania gets down to 44th in top on life quality and social welfare, on 176 countries

Romania went down to 44th position, after Bulgaria, in the top on the quality of life and social welfare, on 176 countries taken into consideration in making the study Social Progress Index 2023, made by the non profit organization Social Progress Initiative, with Deloitte support, while Denmark, Norway and Finland hold the first positions.   Romania lost a position compared to 2023 and remains among countries of the second category, after Argentina, Barbados and Bulgaria, according to a press release issued by Deloitte on Tuesday. The study included six categories of countries, and Romania advanced to the second category in 2022.   The study shows that, when the idex measuring social progress constantly advanced over ten years, the quality of lige and social welfare stagnated in 2023 at global level or dropped, Romania following the trend.   The Social Progress Index (SPI) measures the quality of life and social welfare of citizens from 170 cluntries, based on the analysis of three main dimensions. Points are granted for elements included in the basic needs category – food and masic medical care, water and sanitation, housing and personal safety. For welfare elements there are access to basic education, access to data and communications, health and well being, environment quality and for elements including opportunities – personal rights, personal freedom and access to advanced education. Based on the points granted, countries in the top are grouped into six categories.   According to Alexandru Reff, Country Managing Partner, Deloitte Romania and Moldova, Deloitte studies explain the fact that investments, economic growth and social progress are interdependent and create a virtuos circle only if they are accompanied by additional measures, such as the facilitation and strategic directing of the investment flow to certain industries and regions.   In 2023, Romania ranked 46th in the world for the basic needs categry, 49th for welfare and 46th for the opportunity category. The analysis on values attributed to every coordinate included in the three categories shows that Romania obtained the best results for nutrition and medical care (28th), housing (43rd), personal safety (45th), data and communications (46th).   On the other hand, coordinates that register lower scores include social inclusion (71st) and water and sanitation (67th).   In 2023, Denmark ranks first, with 90.38 points. According to the study, Denmark, Norway and Finland are thr first three in the top, while Chad, Central African Republic and South Sudan rank last.   All EU member states are in the first two categories. Only three G7 countries – Germany (10), Canada (15) and Japan (16) were in the first category of the top. The best position among Central and East European countries is occupied by Estonia (18), followed by Czechia (19), Slovenia (20), Lithuania (31), Latvia (32), Croatia (33), Slovakia (35), Poland (36), Hungary (40), Bulgaria (43) and Romania (44).   When the index measuring social progress advanced constantly over ten years, the level of life quality and social welfare stagnated in 2023 at global level. In time, the social progress index went up from 58.34 in 2011, when the study was made for the first time, to 63.44 at the end of 2023, a level almost unchanged, compared to 63.75 in 2022, in the context in which most countries stagnated or went up last year.   Romania also followed the tendency and went up from 71.52 in 2011, to 75.24 in 2023, a level which is slightly dropping against the previous year when it was 76.89. Between 2011 and 2023, the world recorded a constant advance of the social progress index, but in 2023, for the first time, life quality and welfare dropped to 63.44 from 63.75 in 2022.   Since 2011, four countries recorded a drop of the social progress level : Venzuela (-6.18), Syria (-4.22), USA (-1.40) and Great Britain (-0.39). In the last 12 years, 11 of the 12 components that make up the global score went up, the highest advance being recorded by data and communications (+19.55), housing (+8.70), water and sanitation (+7.71).   On the other hand, since 2011 to the present day, the score dropped for rights and freedom of expression categories (-6.49).   Deloitte supplies audit services, fiscal and juridical consulting, financial and risk managementul consulting for 90% of companies present in Fortune Global 500 top and for thousands of private companies.