New Zealand government welcomes top place in global prosperity index

The New Zealand government Thursday welcomed the country's top ranking in a London-based think-tank index of prosperity in 149 economies.

New Zealand rose to first in the 2016 Legatum Institute Global Prosperity Index, up from fourth place last year.

The index ranks 149 economies according to their performance across eight equally weighted categories and New Zealand ranked first in both economic quality and social capital, second in both business environment and governance, and third for personal freedom.

"This is great news following on from New Zealand's recent number one ranking in the World Bank's ease of doing business report, and our rank of 13th in the Global Competitiveness Index, up three places from last year," Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said in a statement.

"The index cites New Zealand's ability to turn its wealth into prosperity, ranking us top in how much prosperity a country delivers given its wealth. The top performing countries in that category have open markets, high levels of personal freedom, and strong civil society," said Joyce.

"It also particularly notes our rapidly improving business environment, specifically greater labor market flexibility, better access to business finance, and the expansion of broadband infrastructure."

A statement from the Legatum Institute said New Zealand had ranked first in the index for six of the last 10 years.

"Bar a small prosperity drop as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis and the immediate impact of the Canterbury earthquakes, New Zealand's prosperity has been on an upward trend, particularly since 2012," it said.

"This rise has been driven by concerted efforts by policymakers, especially in economic and health policy. New Zealand's business environment performance has seen it rise nine ranks to second, and in health it has risen eight ranks to 12th." Endit