The Centre for National Prosperity carries out research into what prosperity is, how it can be measured and how it may be enhanced.
The Centre provides leaders, civil society and the interested public with the data, analysis, knowledge and insights needed to assess the drivers and restrainers of prosperity in their country. The Centre engages directly with national leaders through reports, direct briefings and advisory services.
“What gets measured gets done”
– Peter Drucker
Our programmes
The Legatum Prosperity Index
National success is about more than just wealth. And yet, traditionally we have used narrow measures of wealth, such as GDP, as our benchmark to determine the success of nations. The Legatum Prosperity Index™ goes beyond this to measure countries’ success against a broad set of metrics covering areas such as health, education, governance, personal freedom, social capital, enterprise conditions, and more.
Launched in 2007, the Index assesses the performance of 167 countries across 12 pillars, underpinned by 67 policy-focused elements, to provide a comprehensive and holistic picture of prosperity.
The Index is designed to be a tool that leaders around the world can use to help set their agendas for growth and development, and that others can use to hold them to account. We hope it will spark debate and encourage policymakers, academics, journalists, and the public to take a holistic view of prosperity and better understand how it is created.
The United States Prosperity Index
Since its launch in 2019, the United States Prosperity Index has become a leading barometer of American prosperity and is being used to set data-driven agendas for change at the state and local levels.
The Index utilises a combination of institutional, economic, and social indicators provided by a range of different organisations across the United States, yielding a broad and rich measure of prosperity, which is far more than mere economic or financial well-being.
The Index is underpinned by 231 indicators, sourced from over 90 distinct and diverse data sources. Grouping these indicators into 49 discrete actionable elements, the Index provides a comprehensive prosperity assessment of each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, together with over 1,500 counties from 18 selected states.
[The] Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage… It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl… Yet the Gross National Product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials…it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy