Prosperity; or lack thereof

In 2011 Pakistan thrashed three countries in terms of prosperity as it stood at 107 out of the 110 countries. Thats what the Legatum prosperity index declares.
This index takes into consideration both income and well-being to reflect on the prosperity of a country, with particular emphasis laid on economy, governance, education, health and security.
Pakistans security and safety situation is terrible. Having a big stake in the war on terror, it has to face vengeance in the form of suicide blasts and other acts of terrorism. Adding to this is the high unemployment level which is pushing up the crime rate.
The state of education and literacy in the country is also alarming, as the report highlights that the state of civil education leaves much to be desired. This sector suffers from poor planning, low allocation of funds, and violation of merit, political manipulation and the lack of professional expertise among teachers.
According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, out of 20 million children between the ages five and nine, only 12 million are enrolled in schools. Moreover, out of the 12 million enrolled 50 percent drop out of schools by the time they reach class five. With such a low enrollment level and towering dropout level, a rank of 105 out of 110 doesn come as much of a surprise.
As far as entrepreneurship and opportunity for doing business are concerned, Pakistan doesn fare any better at a rank of 86.
This finding is in line with the observations of local research on social and living standards conducted by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI). The fourth quarterly survey of business perceptions conducted by OICCI shows that more than 43 percent of the respondents perceived the economic situation to be much the worst at present compared to 2008-09. In other words, investors sentiment is not just low; it is falling further.
The economy-related sub index is better than most of the sub indices for Pakistan as it is ranked 96, in Legatums rankings. When compared to other countries in the South Asian region, the picture appears a bit gloomy as India and Bangladesh rank 53 and 73, respectively.
High inflation, rupee depreciation and incorrigible energy crisis that badly struck the economy can be held accountable for the poor ranking in this arena. Leading economists believe that there is no consistency, no leadership and no commitment to solve these issues, so a quick fix for these predicaments appears unlikely.
The situation for health, governance and social capital is also terrible, and there are no signs of improvement on this front either. The survey serves yet another stark reminder that the countrys socio-economic indicators are at dismally low levels that need urgent attention.

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                               Pakistan   Bangladesh  India

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Overall Ranking  2011               107       95         91

ECONOMY                              96       73         53

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & OPPORTUNITY       86       92         90

GOVERNANCE                           98       89         41

EDUCATION                           105       91         88

HEALTH                               96       88         95

SAFETY & SECURITY                   109       98         97

PERSONAL FREEDOM                    104       46         73

SOCIAL                              100      109        104

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