Namibia ranked as the most liberal African state
By Freeman Ngulu.
10 January 2017 – Excluding South Africa, Namibia is the only other African country on a list of the 25 most tolerant, progressive and environmentally friendly countries in the world, according to Edith Hancock, who reviewed the findings of expat website, Movehub.
The review is intended for a European audience for individuals who are considering to relocate following events with a negative or unpredictable global impact, for instance, Brexit or Trump’s recent election in the USA.
Namibia is listed as one of the most liberal countries prospective expats can move to in 2017.
Movehub compared three different studies from 2016 to determine the most liberal nations — the Social Progress Index, the Environmental Performance Index and the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Gender Gap report.
The Nordic region dominates the 25 country list of the most tolerant, progressive, and environmentally friendly countries in the world.
The Social Progress Index examines dozens of categories like religious and sexual orientation tolerance, affordable housing, press freedom and access to education, while the WEF’s Gender Gap report looks into gender parity in jobs and education. The Environmental Performance Index focuses on factors like air pollution and recycling.
Hancock said that while Scandinavian countries dominate the top 10, the results throw up some surprises.
“As the ranking looks at social liberties, countries with struggling economies like Namibia are able to make it into the top 25 because they afford their people more rights than nations with a similar GDP per capita,” she said.
According to her, Namibia takes a hit on basic human needs and access to education in the Social Progress Index, however, Namibia performed well on personal rights like political freedom and freedom of speech.
In the Foundations of Wellbeing Dimension, Namibia scored highest on Access to Basic Knowledge, but lags on the Health and Wellness component.
She further noted that in the Opportunity Dimension, Namibia is strongest on Personal Rights and has the most room to improve on Access to Advanced Education.
For further information on the original research one can visit, http://www.movehub.com/blog/the-most-liberal-countries-in-the-world.
