LONDON, June 24 (UPI) -- On the "Good Country Index," a survey designed to measure nations' contributions to humanity, Ireland was declared number one, with the United States in 21st place.
The index, an idea of British author and policy adviser Simon Anholt, blends analyses of data from the United Nations, the World Bank and other organizations to measure which countries do the most to contribute to humanity.
Information is considered regarding freedom of the press, refugees hosted, the amount of weapons exported and number of Nobel Prize winners. Countries are then ranked in categories, including contributions to technology, culture, peace, prosperity and equality.
This is the first time the Good Country Index has been published.
The top 10 countries overall are Ireland, Finland, Switzerland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark and Belgium. Of those, only New Zealand is outside Western Europe.
The United States was ranked 21st, largely because of a perceived poor record in the category of international peace and security. India was ranked 81st, Russia was 95th and China was 107th of 125 countries surveyed.
The index indicated Iraq, Libya and Vietnam did least for the global good.
