Drinking water, illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
Slovakia ended at 30th in the 2017 Social Progress Index, improving by one position, the TASR newswire wrote on October 10. There are 128 countries annually compared regarding their social and economic development as well as environmental level by the Deloitte company and the non-profit Social Progress Imperative organisation.
“Slovakia is very well off in terms of basic human needs like nutrition, hygiene, access to drinking water and accommodation,” Deloitte’s main partner in Slovakia, Marián Hudák, commented for TASR. “Compared with other countries, we have excellent personal safety and access to information.”
Ups and downs
Slovakia had a final score of 80.22, with the best results in Water and Sanitation – 99.02, Nutrition and Basic Medical Care – 98.95, Access to Basic Knowledge – 96.40, Access to Information and Communications – 88.99 and Personal Safety – 88.84. The best possible score was 100.
However, the country placed disastrously in tolerance towards minorities (124th place), discrimination and violence towards minorities (62nd), and tolerance towards minoritieshomosexuals (52nd). Other categories with a dubious score were Tolerance and Inclusion – 50.02, Access to Advanced Education – 57.04, Personal Freedom and Choice – 68.67, Health and Wellness – 69.79 and Personal Rights – 78.48. Poland and Hungary ended up with similar results.
The Social Progress Index generally evaluates as many as 50 categories. This time Denmark placed best, while Central Africa ended up last.
Globally, the Social Progress Index keeps growing, with 113 countries having improved since 2014. Overall, the boost is mainly in access to information and higher education, while the blocks are poor access to drinking water and elementary education in many countries.
This year’s results have particular shown that more countries have recorded a worsening instead of an improvement in human rights, Hudák told TASR.
