Quality-of-life report 2020: Czech Republic tops Visegrad countries, outranks US

The annual report evaluates 163 countries based on various economic and social indicators

Expats.cz Staff

Written by Expats.cz Staff Published on 11.09.2020 09:48:00 (updated on 18.10.2020) Reading time: 1 minute

While the Czech Republic dropped one place this year in the social progress rankings compiled by consulting firm Deloitte with the non-profit Social Progress Imperative, it leads the Visegrad nations — and bests the US — in quality of life.

Out of 163 countries evaluated, the Czech Republic slipped to 25th place just behind Estonia and before Cyprus. Norway defended its first-place position, while Denmark remained in second with Finland third. 

The rankings are based on social, economic, and environmental data. Though the Czech Republic has a lower overall ranking, the country scored 86.69 points out of 100 this year, up from 84.36 points in 2019, with fresh data indicating that the nation has improved in the areas of access to education and information.

“GDP per capita in purchasing power parity increased by $6,900 to $40,314 compared to last year. This is three times the growth of the previous period,” said Deloitte in a press release.

The Czech Republic saw a decline in basic human needs of nutrition, medical care, water purity, hygiene and shelter. It scored worst in the acceptance of and discrimination against minorities.

“The strong position of the Czech Republic in providing not only basic needs, but also educational needs and health has been confirmed for a long time. On the contrary, we are weakened by the high level of emissions,” Deloitte President Josef Kotrba told CTK

According to Kotrba, the Czech Republic’s low score in access to e-government is also worrying. “Especially in a situation where the government declares the country’s future orientation towards new technologies,” he added.

Of the Visegrad countries, the Czech Republic bested Poland (#31), Slovakia (#36), and Hungary (#40). It also outranked the US which came in at 28 behind Cyprus and Greece.

Did you like this article?

Would you like us to write about your business? Find out more