The 31 happiest, richest, healthiest, and safest countries in the world

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Busan South Korea buildings

Wikimedia Commons

Busan, South Korea. South Korea ranked 28th in the index.

Every year, the Legatum Institute, a London-based think-tank releases its annual global Prosperity Index, a huge survey that ranks the most prosperous countries in the world.

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The amount of money a country has is one factor of prosperity, but the Legatum Institute considers more than that in its ranking.

The organisation compares 89 variables to come up with its list. These variables include traditional indicators like per-capita gross domestic product and the number of people in full-time work, but also more interesting figures such as the number of secure internet servers a country has and how well-rested people feel on a day-to-day basis.

The variables are then split into eight sub-indexes: economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, and social capital.

The index looked at the 142 countries in the world that have the most available data. Here are the top performing nations.

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