It’s been a fairly steep fall from grace.
Ireland has slipped from 1st to 11th on the ‘Good Country Index’, a ranking of countries throughout the world depending on their contribution to the greater good of humanity relative to their size.
In 2014, Ireland was on top of the world, riding high at number one in an index that uses a wide range of data from the United Nations and other international organisations to determine how we fare when compared to other nations across the globe.
A country’s placing on the list is determined by their contribution via a range of different categories – Science and Technology, Culture, International Peace and Security, World Order, Planet and Climate, Prosperity and Equality and Health and Wellbeing.

After all of those factors are taken into account, Ireland ranks in 11th place overall, just outside a top ten that is dominated by European countries, with Sweden ranking ahead of Denmark and Netherlands in top spot.
You can investigate Ireland’s ranking in more detail here, but it seems as if we’re going to have to buck up our ideas if we want to be known as the best country all over again.
Good Country Index Top 10:
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Finland
- Canada
- France
- Austria
- New Zealand
11. IRELAND
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
