SA 51st position in Legatum Index

The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, which measures the relative prosperity of 104 countries, rates South Africa at 51 overall.

The Legatum Institute describes itself as “an independent research, policy, and advocacy organisation that promotes political, economic and individual liberty in the developing and transitioning world”, and describes the Index as “the world’s only global assessment of wealth and wellbeing; unlike other studies that rank countries by actual levels of wealth, life satisfaction or development, the Prosperity Index produces rankings based upon the very foundations of prosperity – those factors that help drive economic growth and produce happy citizens over the long term”.

Well how independent the Institute actually is I cannot be sure. The Institute has an interest in ‘free markets’ and according to their website key personnel have links with the US National Security Council and the Heritage Foundation, so you may be able to form your own opinion.

Nonetheless the Prosperity Index makes interesting reading. The South Africa country profile is based on an assessment of 9 indices – economic fundamentals (regarded as unstable), entrepreneurship and innovation (moderate), democratic institutions (basic freedoms guaranteed “but there is interference in South Africa’s judiciary”), education, health, safety and security (“notable domestic security problems”), governance, personal freedom, and social capital.

On the social capital index, South Africa is ranked 30th overall, and the report notes that “social trust is low, with only 17% of individuals believing that other people can be trusted”. However, the social capital ranking is boosted as a result of reported high levels of organisational membership (especially religious affiliation), and a willingness to assist others in need.

The safety and security ranking (96th) gives cause for concern. The Index reports that “the South African government allegedly engages in practices such as torture or political imprisonment”, implying that torture and political imprisonment are used as instruments of state repression. The Amnesty International 2009 country report on South Africa (which I would consider a more credible source) indicates that “torture and other ill-treatment by police, prison warders and private security guards continued to be reported and sometimes led to the deaths of detainees”, but does not imply that this is done as a matter of state policy. Which is not to say that the South African government should not be doing more to prohibit the mistreatment of prisoners and detainees.

Interestingly, the US is rated 19th in terms of safety and security, despite one of the highest homicide rates in the world, the continued existence of the death penalty, and the use of torture, mistreatment and rendition by US forces around the world.