Estes Weighted Index of Social Progress
Richard J. Estes, Professor Emeritus of Social Work and Social Policy in the School of Social Policy & Practice of the University of Pennsylvania (USA), has developed a quality of life metric at the country level (called the Weighted Index of Social Progress or WISP) and has reported the quality of life on many countries and world regions since the 1970s (click Show Sources below). Specifically, Professor Estes’ WISP is a composite index of quality of life at the country level. That is, the WISP index captures quality of life of the vast majority of the countries (countries that maintains social indicators data). The WISP consists of an overall composite score of each country (shown as an actual score varying from 0 to 100, ranks, and standard deviation from the mean). The overall index is made up of 10 subindices: education, health, women status, defense effort, economic, demography, environmental, social chaos, cultural cohesion, and welfare effort. Click on Brief Description below for a description of the WISP and its constituent indicators.
Show Brief Description Hide Brief Description- The Education Subindex is made up of four indicators: (1) Public Expenditures on Education as Percentage of GDP (+; i.e., the positive sign indicates that the higher the score the higher the quality of life); (2) Primary School Completion Rate (+); (3) Secondary School Net Enrollment Rate (+); and (4) Adult Literacy Rate (+).
- The Health Subindex consists of six indicators: (1) Life Expectation at Birth (+); (2) Infant Mortality Rate (-; i.e., the negative sign indicates that the higher the score the lower the quality of life); (3) Under-Five Child Mortality Rate (-); (4) Physician Per 100,000 Population (+); Percent of Population Undernourished (-); and (6) Public Expenditure on Health as Percentage of GDP (+).
- The Women Status Subindex consists of five indicators: (1) Female Adult Literacy as Percentage of Male Literacy (+); (2) Contraceptive Prevalence among Married Women (+); (3) Maternal Mortality Rate (-); (4) Female Secondary School Enrollment as Percentage of Male Enrollment (+); and (5) Seats in Parliament Held by Women as Percentage of Total (+).
- The Defense Effort Subindex consists of one indicator, namely Military Expenditures as Percentage of GDP (-).
- The Economic Subindex consists five indicators: (1) Per Capita Gross National Income as Measured by PPP (+); (2) Percent Growth in GDP (+); (3) Unemployment Rate (-); (4) Total External Debt as Percentage of GDP (-); and (6) GINI Index Score (-).
- The Demography Subindex comprise three indicators: (1) Average Annual Rate of Population Growth (-); (2) Percent of Population Aged < 15 years (-); (3) Percent of Population Aged > 64 Years (+).
- The Environmental Subindex has three indicators: (1) Percentage of Nationally Protected Area (+); (2) Average Annual Number of Disaster-Related Death (-); and (3) Per Capita Metric Tons of Carbon-Dioxide Emissions (-).
- The Social Chaos Subindex has six indicators: (1) Violations of Political Rights (-); (2) Violations of Civil Liberties (-); (3) Number of Internally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-); (4) Number of Externally Displaced Person Per 100,000 Population (-); (5) Estimated Number of Deaths from Armed Conflicts (-); and (6) Perceived Corruption Index (-).
- The Cultural Cohesion Subindex has three indicators: (1) Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Racial/Ethnic Origins (+); (2) Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Religious Beliefs (+); and (3) Largest Share of Population Sharing the Same Mother Tongue (+).
- Finally, the Welfare Effort Subindex has five indicators: (1) Age First National Laws-Old Age, Invalidity & Death (+), (2) Age First National Laws-Sickness & Maternity (+); (3) Age First National Laws-Work Injury (+); (4) Age First National Laws-Unemployment (+); (5) Age First National Laws-Family Allowance (+).
Hide Sources
Estes, R. J. (1984). World social vulnerability: 1968 1978. Social Development Issues 8(1-2), 8 28.
Estes, R. J. (1985). Toward the year 2000: The need for global action now. Social Development Issues 9(1), 54 63.
Estes, R. J. (1986). Europe tops survey of most livable countries. Europe (November), pp. 36 37.
Estes, R. J. (1987). Social development trends in the Pacific: implications for the future. Social Development Issues 11(2), 3-19.
Estes, R. J. (1988). Trends in world social development: The social progress of nations, 1970-1987. New York: Praeger.
Estes, R. J. (1988a). Trends in world social development: The social progress of nations, 1970-1987. New York: Praeger. ISBN: 0-275-92613-3.
Estes, R. J. (1988b). World social ranking. In George Kurrian (editor). Encyclopedia of the Third World. New York: Facts on File.
Estes, R. J. (1988c). Toward a quality of life index. In Norwine, James & Alfonso Gonzalez (editors) The Third World: States of Mind Meaning. London: Unwin & Hyman, pp. 23-36.
Estes, R. J. (1990a). Development trends in the Asian and Pacific region: Assessing the adequacy of social provision, 1970-1987. In Guidelines on methodological approaches to the conduct of a regional survey on the quality of life as an aspect of human resources development. Bangkok: United Nations ESCAP, Publication No. ST/ESCAP/886, pp. 32-59.
Estes, R. J. (1990b). Social development under different political and economic systems. Social Development Issues 13(1), 5-19.
Estes, R. J. (1990c). The international index of social progress. Encyclopedia of Social Inventions. London: The Institute for Social Inventions, pp. 186-188.
Estes, R. J. (1992a). Internationalizing Social Work Education: A Guide to Resources for A New Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work.
Estes, R. J. (1992b). Towards a Social Development Strategy for the ESCAP Region. Bangkok: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, ST/ESCAP/1170.
Estes, R. J. (1992c). Internationalizing social work education: A guide to resources for a new century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work.
Estes, R. J. (1993). Toward sustainable development: from theory to praxis. Social Development Issues 15(3), 1-29.
Estes, R. J. (1993a). Education for comparative social welfare research. In Sanders, D. Education for International Social Welfare, a joint publication of the Council on Social Work Education and the University of Hawaii, School of Social Work. Honolulu: Univer¬sity of Hawaii Press, pp. 56 86.
Estes, R. J. (1994). Social work in international perspective: Professional challenges for Korea at the outset of a new century. Proceedings of the 9th Symposium on Social Welfare, Yonsei University, pp. 1-36.
Estes, R. J. (1995a). Social development trends in Africa: The need for a new development paradigm. Social Development Issues 17(1), 18-47.
Estes, R. J. (1995b). Education for social development: curricular issues and models. Social Development Issues 16(3), 68-90.
Estes, R. J. (1996a). Health and development in Asia: Regional priorities for a new century. Forum of International Development Studies 6 (December), 3-31.
Estes, R. J. (1996b). Social development trends in Asia, 1970-1994: The challenges of a new century. Social Indicators Research 37(2), 119-148.
Estes, R. J. (1996c). Social development trends in Latin America, 1970-1994: In the shadows of the 21st century. Social Development Issues 18(1), 25-52.
Estes, R. J. (1997). Trends in European social development, 1970-1994. Social Indicators Research 42(1), 1-19.
Estes, R. J. (1997a). Social work, social development and community welfare centers in international perspective. International Social Work 40(1), 43-55.
Estes, R. J. (1997b). The world social situation: social work's contribution to international development. In Edwards, R. (Editor). Encyclopedia of Social Work. Supplement to the 19th Edition. Washington: National Association of Social Workers, pp. 343-359.
Estes, R. J. (1998a). Social development trends in the successor states to the former Soviet Union: The search for a new paradigm. In Hope, K. R., Challenges of Transformation and Transition from Centrally Planned to Market Economies (pp. 13-30). UNCRD Research Report Series No. 26. Nagoya: United Nations Centre for Regional Development.
Estes, R. J. (1998b). Trends in world social development, 1970-95: Development prospects for a new century. Journal of Developing Societies 14(1), 11-39.
Estes, R. J. (1999). Social development trends in the Middle East, 1970-1997: The search for modernity. Social Indicators Research 50 (1), 51-81.
Estes, R. J. (2000). Social development trends in the Middle East, 1970-1995: Implications for Social Policy Reform. In Belkacem, L. (Editor) Building and sustaining the capacity for social policy reforms. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishers, pp. 17-46.
Estes, R. J. (2003a). Advancing quality of life in Hong Kong: The unfinished agenda. In Lee, P. (Editor). Proceedings of the international conference on quality of life in a global world (Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong).
Estes, R. J. (2003b). European social development trends: development challenges of the ‘New Europe. In Vogel, J. (Editor), Välfärd och ofärd på 90-talet (Good times and Hard Times in Sweden During the 1990s), Report #100: Living Conditions Series. Stockholm: Statistics Sweden, pp. 435-468.
Estes, R. J. (2004). Development challenges of the ‘New’ Europe”. Social Indicators Research 69(2), 123-166.
Estes, R. J. (2005a). Global change and indicators of social development. In Marie Weil (Editor) The handbook of community practice. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.
Estes, R. J. (2005b). Quality of life in Hong Kong: Past accomplishments and prospects. In Shek, Daniel (Editor), Quality of life in the global context: A Chinese response, special issue of Social Indicators Research 71(1-3), 183-229.
Estes, R. J. (2005bc). Social Development in Hong Kong: The Unfinished Agenda (London & New York: Oxford University Press). Estes, R. J. (2007). Advancing Quality of Life in a Turbulent World. Dordrecht NL & Berlin: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J. (2007a). Asia and the new century: Challenges and opportunities. Social Indicators Research 82(3), 375-410.
Estes, R. J. (2007b). Development challenges and opportunities confronting economies in transition. Social Indicators Research 83(3), 375-411.
Estes, R. J. (2008). The international dimensions of social work practice. In Cnaan, R. et al. (Editors). A century of social work and social welfare at Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 333-353.
Estes, R. J. (2009). United States-based conceptualization of international social work education prepared on behalf of the Global Commission of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Arlington VA: CSWE.
Estes, R. J. (2010). The world social situation: Development challenges at the outset of a new century. Social Indicators Research 98:363–402.
Estes, R. J. (2010b). Toward sustainable development: From theory to praxis. Social Development Issues 15(3), 1-29.
Estes, R. J. (2012a). Economies in transition: Continuing challenges to quality of life. In Land, Kenneth, Alex C. Michalos, and M. Joseph Sirgy (Eds.). Handbook of quality of life research. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers, pp. 433-457.
Estes, R. J. (2012b). Entries in the Of Record section of the journal of Applied Research in Quality of Life Research (ARQOL),
Estes, R. J. (2012b). Global change and indicators of social development. In Marie Weil (Editor). Handbook of community practice. 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Press, pp. 587-606.
Estes, R. J. (2012c). Failed and failing states: Is quality of life possible? In Land, Kenneth, Alex C. Michalos, and M. Joseph Sirgy (Eds.). Handbook of Quality of Life Research. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers, pp. 555-580.
Estes, R. J. (2014). Disadvantaged populations. In Michalos AC (Ed.). Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Springer International Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer International Publishers, pp 1654-58.
Estes, R. J. (2014b). Index of social progress, in Michalos A.C. (Editor.). Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J. (2014c). Social progress, in Michalos AC (Ed.). Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers, pp 6146-48.
Estes, R. J. (2015). Development trends among the world’s socially least developed countries: reasons for cautious optimism. In Brian Spooner (Editor). Globalization: The Crucial Phase Globalization: The Crucial Phase. Chapter 2. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum Press.
Estes, R. J. (2015b). Global change and quality of life indicators. In Maggino, F. A life devoted to quality of life festschrift in honor of Alex C. Michalos. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers, 173-194.
Estes, R. J. (2015c). Trends in world social development: The search for global well-being. In Glatzer. Wolfgang (Ed.). The global handbook of well-being: from the wealth of nations to the human well-being of nations. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J. (2017a). Pioneer in quality of life research: Daniel Bell (1919-2011). Applied Research in Quality of Life Research. Volume 7(3), 331-336.
Estes, R. J. (2017b). Pioneer in quality of life research: Donald Mc Granahan (1917-2001). Applied Research in Quality of Life Research. Volume 7(3), 331-336.
Estes, R. J. (2017c). The commercial sexual exploitation of children in North America. In Anderson, R. (Ed.). Alleviating world suffering: The challenge of negative quality of life. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers, pp. 375-394.
Estes, R. J. (2017d). Aurelio Pecci: Industrialist, humanist and quality of life scholar (1908-1984). Applied Research in Quality of Life. 12:231–232.
Estes, R. J. (2017e). Donella H. Dana Meadows: A designer of systems for advancing quality of life (1941–2001). Applied Research in Quality of Life. 12:233–235.
Estes, R. J. (2017f) Composite scores and changing rank order positions on the index of social progress (ISP/WISP), 1970-2010 (N=162). In Estes, R. J. & M. J. Sirgy (Editors). The Pursuit of Well-Being: The Untold Global History. Appendix D and E. Dordrecht: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J. (2018a). Advances in well-being in the Middle East and Gulf States regions: Historical background and contemporary challenges. In Lambert, & Pasha-Zaid, N., Positive Psychology: A View for the Arabian Gulf, pp xx . Dordrect: Springer International Publishers (in press).
Estes, R. J., Land, K., Michalos, A., Phillips, R., & Sirgy, M. J (2017b). The history of well-being in North America. In Estes, R. J. & M. J. Sirgy (Editors). The pursuit of well-being: The untold global history. Chapter 9. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Morgan, J. S., (1976). World social welfare analysis: A theoretical model. International Social Work 19(2), 29 41.
Estes, R. J. & Sirgy, M. J. (2016). Is quality of life related to radical Islamic militancy and acts of terrorism? In Tiliouine, H. & Estes, R. J., Social Progress in Islamic Societies: Social, Political, Economic, and Ideological Challenges. Chapter 29. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J. (2014) Radical Islamic militancy and acts of terrorism: a quality-of-life analysis. Social Indicators Research, 117(2):615-652.
Estes, R. J. & Sirgy, M. J. (Eds.). (2017a). The pursuit of human well-being: The untold global history. Dordrecht, NL: Springer.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J. (2017b). Introduction. In Estes, R. J. & M. J. Sirgy (Editors). The pursuit of well-being: The untold global history. Chapter 1. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J. (2017c). Major empirical instruments used to measure objective and subjective well-being. In Estes, R. J. & M. J. Sirgy (Editors). The pursuit of well-being: The untold global history. Appendix B. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J. (2017d). Well-being from a global perspective. In Estes, R. J. & M. J. Sirgy (Editors). The pursuit of well-being: The untold global history. Chapter 20. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J. & Sirgy M. J. (2018a). Advances in well-being: Towards a better world. London: Rowman & Littlefield International.
Estes, R. J. & Sirgy, M. J, (2018b). Advances in Well-being in the MENA region: Accentuating the Positive. In L. Lambert & N. Pasha-Zaidi (Editors). Advances in Well-being in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region: Historical Background and Contemporary Challenges. Dordrecht: Springer International Publishers, in press.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J. & Selian. A. (2017). How we measure well-being: The data behind the history of human well-Being. The Pursuit of Well-Being: The Untold Global History. Chapter 6. Dordrecht: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J. (2018a). Advances in Well-Being: Toward a Better World for All. London: Rowman and Littlefield.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J. (2018b). Advances in well-being in the MENA region: Accentuating the Positive. In L. Lambert & N. Pasha-Zaidi (Editors), Positive psychology: A Vivew for the Arabian Gulf. Dordrecht: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J. (2018bc). Global advances in quality of life and well-being: Past. Present, and Future. Social Indicators Research, DOI: 10.1007/s11205-018-1869-4, in press.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J., & M. Joshanloo (2018). The global challenge of jihadist terrorism: A quality-of-life model. Social Indicators Research, (SOCI-D-17-00970R1), in press.
Estes, R. J., Sirgy, M. J., & Selian, A. (2017). Major worldwide accomplishments in well-being since 1900. In Estes, R. J. & M. J. Sirgy (Editors). The pursuit of well-being: The untold global history. Appendix C. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Tiliouine, H. (2014). Islamic development trends: From collective wishes to concerted actions. Social Indicators Research, 116(1): 67-114.
Estes, R. J., & Tiliouine, H. (Eds.). (2016a). The state of social progress of Islamic societies: Social, political, economic, and ideological challenges. Dordrecht, NL: Springer.
Estes, R. J. Tiliouine, H. (2016b). Introduction. In Social progress in Islamic Societies: Social, political, economic, and ideological challenges. Chapter 1. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J. Tiliouine, H. (2016c). Social development trends in the countries of the Fertile Crescent. In Social progress in Islamic societies: social, political, economic, and ideological challenges, Chapter 9. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers
Estes, R. J. & Tiliouine, H. (2016d), Social development trends in the countries of the Fertile Crescent. In Social Progress in Islamic Societies: Social, Political, Economic, and Ideological Challenges. Chapter 9. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Tiliouine, H. (2016e). Social progress in North Africa. In Social progress in Islamic societies: Social, political, economic, and ideological challenges. Chapter 6. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers.
Estes, R. J., Tiliouine, H. (2016f). Reflections and conclusions. In Social Progress in Islamic Societies: Social, Political, Economic, and Ideological Challenges. Chapter 30. Dordrecht NL: Springer International Publishers
Estes, R. J., Wai, C. H., Fung, J. & Wong, A. (2002). Toward a social development index for Hong Kong: The process of community engagement. Social Indicators Research 58(1-3), 313-347
Estes, R. J. & Weiner, N. (2005). The commercial sexual exploitation of children in the United States. In Cooper, S. W., Estes, R. J., Giardino, A. P., Kellogg, N. D. & Vieth, V. I. (Editors). Medical, legal, and social science aspects of child sexual exploitation: A comprehensive review of pornography, prostitution, and internet crimes. Florissant, MO 63033: STM Publishing, 95-128.
Estes, R. J. & Wilensky, H. L. (1976). Life cycle squeeze and the morale curve. Social Problems 25(3), 277 92.
Estes, R. J. & Zhou, H. M. (2014). A conceptual approach to the creation of public–private partnerships in social welfare. International Journal of Social Welfare. 4 December, 348-363.
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Indicator
Time Period
| Σ | Σ | Σ | Σ | Country |
Education SubindexPublic Expenditure on Education as Percentage of GDP (+) Primary School Completion Rate (+) Secondary School Net Enrolment Rate (+) Adult Literacy Rate (+) |
Health SubindexLife Expectation at Birth (+) Infant Mortality Rate (-) Under-Five Child Mortality Rate (-) Physicians Per 100,000 Population (+) Percent of Population Undernourished (-) Public Expenditure on Health as Percentage of Gross Domestic Product (+) |
Women Status SubindexFemale Adult Literacy As Percentage of Male Literacy (+) Contraceptive Prevalence Among Married Women (+) Maternal Mortality Ratio (-) Female Secondary School Enrollment As Percentage of Male Enrolment (+) Seats in Parliament Held By Women as Percentage of Total (+) |
Defense Effort SubindexMilitary Expenditures As Percentage of GDP (-) |
Economic SubindexPer Capita Gross National Income (as measured by PPP) (+) Percent Growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (+) Unemployment Rate (-) Total External Debt As Percentage of GDP (-) GINI Index Score (-) |
Demography SubindexAverage Annual Rate of Population Growth (-) Percent of Population Aged < 15 Years (-) Percent of Population Aged > 64 Years (+) |
Environmental SubindexPercentage of Nationally Protected Area (+) Average Annual Number of Disaster-Related Deaths (-) Per Capita Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Emissions (-) |
Social Chaos SubindexViolations of Political Rights (-) Violations of Civil Liberties (-) Number of Internally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-) Number of Externally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-) Estimated Number of Deaths From Armed Conflicts (low estimate) (-) Perceived Corruption Index (+) |
Cultural Cohesion SubindexLargest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Racial/Ethnic Origins (+) Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Religious Beliefs (+) Largest Share of Population Sharing the Same Mother Tongue (+) |
Welfare Effort SubindexAge First National Law-Old Age, Invalidity & Death (+) Age First National Law-Sickness & Maternity (+) Age First National Law-Work Injury (+) Age First National Law-Unemployment (+) Age First National Law-Family Allowance (+) |
Education Subindex Public Expenditure on Education as Percentage of GDP (+) Primary School Completion Rate (+) Secondary School Net Enrolment Rate (+) Adult Literacy Rate (+) |
Health Subindex Life Expectation at Birth (+) Infant Mortality Rate (-) Under-Five Child Mortality Rate (-) Physicians Per 100,000 Population (+) Percent of Population Undernourished (-) Public Expenditure on Health as Percentage of Gross Domestic Product (+) |
Women Status Subindex Female Adult Literacy As Percentage of Male Literacy (+) Contraceptive Prevalence Among Married Women (+) Maternal Mortality Ratio (-) Female Secondary School Enrollment As Percentage of Male Enrolment (+) Seats in Parliament Held By Women as Percentage of Total (+) |
Defense Effort Subindex Military Expenditures As Percentage of GDP (-) |
Economic Subindex Per Capita Gross National Income (as measured by PPP) (+) Percent Growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (+) Unemployment Rate (-) Total External Debt As Percentage of GDP (-) GINI Index Score (-) |
Demography Subindex Average Annual Rate of Population Growth (-) Percent of Population Aged < 15 Years (-) Percent of Population Aged > 64 Years (+) |
Environmental Subindex Percentage of Nationally Protected Area (+) Average Annual Number of Disaster-Related Deaths (-) Per Capita Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Emissions (-) |
Social Chaos Subindex Violations of Political Rights (-) Violations of Civil Liberties (-) Number of Internally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-) Number of Externally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-) Estimated Number of Deaths From Armed Conflicts (low estimate) (-) Perceived Corruption Index (+) |
Cultural Cohesion Subindex Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Racial/Ethnic Origins (+) Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Religious Beliefs (+) Largest Share of Population Sharing the Same Mother Tongue (+) |
Welfare Effort Subindex Age First National Law-Old Age, Invalidity & Death (+) Age First National Law-Sickness & Maternity (+) Age First National Law-Work Injury (+) Age First National Law-Unemployment (+) Age First National Law-Family Allowance (+) |
Education Subindex Public Expenditure on Education as Percentage of GDP (+) Primary School Completion Rate (+) Secondary School Net Enrolment Rate (+) Adult Literacy Rate (+) |
Health Subindex Life Expectation at Birth (+) Infant Mortality Rate (-) Under-Five Child Mortality Rate (-) Physicians Per 100,000 Population (+) Percent of Population Undernourished (-) Public Expenditure on Health as Percentage of Gross Domestic Product (+) |
Women Status Subindex Female Adult Literacy As Percentage of Male Literacy (+) Contraceptive Prevalence Among Married Women (+) Maternal Mortality Ratio (-) Female Secondary School Enrollment As Percentage of Male Enrolment (+) Seats in Parliament Held By Women as Percentage of Total (+) |
Defense Effort Subindex Military Expenditures As Percentage of GDP (-) |
Economic Subindex Per Capita Gross National Income (as measured by PPP) (+) Percent Growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (+) Unemployment Rate (-) Total External Debt As Percentage of GDP (-) GINI Index Score (-) |
Demography Subindex Average Annual Rate of Population Growth (-) Percent of Population Aged < 15 Years (-) Percent of Population Aged > 64 Years (+) |
Environmental Subindex Percentage of Nationally Protected Area (+) Average Annual Number of Disaster-Related Deaths (-) Per Capita Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Emissions (-) |
Social Chaos Subindex Violations of Political Rights (-) Violations of Civil Liberties (-) Number of Internally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-) Number of Externally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-) Estimated Number of Deaths From Armed Conflicts (low estimate) (-) Perceived Corruption Index (+) |
Cultural Cohesion Subindex Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Racial/Ethnic Origins (+) Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Religious Beliefs (+) Largest Share of Population Sharing the Same Mother Tongue (+) |
Welfare Effort Subindex Age First National Law-Old Age, Invalidity & Death (+) Age First National Law-Sickness & Maternity (+) Age First National Law-Work Injury (+) Age First National Law-Unemployment (+) Age First National Law-Family Allowance (+) |
Education Subindex Public Expenditure on Education as Percentage of GDP (+) Primary School Completion Rate (+) Secondary School Net Enrolment Rate (+) Adult Literacy Rate (+) |
Health Subindex Life Expectation at Birth (+) Infant Mortality Rate (-) Under-Five Child Mortality Rate (-) Physicians Per 100,000 Population (+) Percent of Population Undernourished (-) Public Expenditure on Health as Percentage of Gross Domestic Product (+) |
Women Status Subindex Female Adult Literacy As Percentage of Male Literacy (+) Contraceptive Prevalence Among Married Women (+) Maternal Mortality Ratio (-) Female Secondary School Enrollment As Percentage of Male Enrolment (+) Seats in Parliament Held By Women as Percentage of Total (+) |
Defense Effort Subindex Military Expenditures As Percentage of GDP (-) |
Economic Subindex Per Capita Gross National Income (as measured by PPP) (+) Percent Growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (+) Unemployment Rate (-) Total External Debt As Percentage of GDP (-) GINI Index Score (-) |
Demography Subindex Average Annual Rate of Population Growth (-) Percent of Population Aged < 15 Years (-) Percent of Population Aged > 64 Years (+) |
Environmental Subindex Percentage of Nationally Protected Area (+) Average Annual Number of Disaster-Related Deaths (-) Per Capita Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Emissions (-) |
Social Chaos Subindex Violations of Political Rights (-) Violations of Civil Liberties (-) Number of Internally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-) Number of Externally Displaced Persons Per 100,000 Population (-) Estimated Number of Deaths From Armed Conflicts (low estimate) (-) Perceived Corruption Index (+) |
Cultural Cohesion Subindex Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Racial/Ethnic Origins (+) Largest Percentage of Population Sharing the Same or Similar Religious Beliefs (+) Largest Share of Population Sharing the Same Mother Tongue (+) |
Welfare Effort Subindex Age First National Law-Old Age, Invalidity & Death (+) Age First National Law-Sickness & Maternity (+) Age First National Law-Work Injury (+) Age First National Law-Unemployment (+) Age First National Law-Family Allowance (+) |
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Do-It-Yourself Instructions
- Select one of the three value modes. Rank mode displays country rankings, score mode displays the actual WISP scores, and standard deviations from mean mode displays the number of standard deviations from the mean based on the appropriate year and indicator.
- Choose the weights to use for each subindex and click the Choose Your Own Weights button to apply them to the table. The default weights are the weights used for calculating the weighted index of social progress (WISP).
- Filter countries based on country groupings below. Selecting and unselecting checkboxes in the show/hide groupings column allows you to quickly show or hide groups of rows. The show/hide rows column allows you to show or hide individual rows, including group averages.
- Click on countries in the table to form a selection set.
- Click on the Graph Selection button at the top of the table to provide a detailed comparison view.
- The dataset can be exported in as an Excel file using the Export Data. Export PDF will generate a pdf file. The set of charts exported is determined by the current indicator selected in the top left dropdown menu, and whether a selection has been made. Note that a selection is not considered complete until you select graph selection.
Mode
Subindex Weights
Show Explanation Hide ExplanationThe weighted index of social progress (WISP) score is derived from 10 subindices. The process for deriving the score varies from year to year.
For the 2020 WISP scores, the subindices are grouped into 4 seperate factors. WISP scores are calculated using the following equation:
$$WISP = 0.456*F_1 + 0.169*F_2 + 0.128*F_3 + 0.245*F_4 + 50$$
Where:
Factor 1: Adequacy of Social Provision
$F_1 = 0.90*S_{1} + 0.90*S_{2} + 0.89*S_{3} + 0.73*S_{4} + 0.55*S_{5}$
$S_1 =$ Health Status Subindex
$S_2 =$ Women Status Subindex
$S_3 =$ Demography Subindex
$S_4 =$ Education Subindex
$S_5 =$ Welfare Effort Subindex
Factor 2: National Environment and Diversity Resources
$F_2 = -0.84*S_{6} + 0.81*S_{7}$
$S_6 =$ Environmental Subindex
$S_7 =$ Cultural Diversity Subindex
Factor 3: Defense and Military Expenditures
$F_3 = 0.97*S_{8}$
$S_8 =$ Defense Effort Subindex
Factor 4: Economic Resources and Stress
$F_4 = 0.92*S_{9} + 0.75*S_{10}$
$S_9 =$ Social Chaos Subindex
$S_{10} =$ Economic Subindex
Prior to 2020, the following equation is used to calculate WISP scores:
$$WISP = 0.697*F_1 + 0.163*F_2 + 0.140*F_3$$
Where:
Factor 1:
$F_1 = 0.91*S_{1} + 0.92*S_{2} + 0.91*S_{3} + 0.71*S_{4} + 0.93*S_{5} + 0.84S_{6} + 0.64S_{7} + 0.72S_{8}$
$S_1 =$ Education Subindex
$S_2 =$ Health Subindex
$S_3 =$ Women Status Subindex
$S_4 =$ Economic Subindex
$S_5 =$ Demography Subindex
$S_6 =$ Social Chaos Subindex
$S_7 =$ Cultural Diversity Subindex
$S_8 =$ Welfare Effort Subindex
Factor 2:
$F_3 = 0.93*S_{9}$
$S_9 =$ Defense Effort Subindex
Factor 3:
$F_2 = 0.98*S_{10}$
$S_10 =$ Environmental Subindex
The subindex weights shown below are the product of the factor weights and the individual subindex weights. For example, the health status weight is calculated from the product of the factor 1 weight, 0.456, and the health status subindex weight, 0.90. When new weights are selected, the values are scaled based on the ratio of the sum of the original WISP weights and the new weights so that the WISP values are comparable in magnitude.
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Education
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Health
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Women Status
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Defense Effort
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Economic
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Demography
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Environmental
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Social Chaos
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Cultural Diversity
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Welfare Effort
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