Zimbabwe ranks lowly in the 'Good Country Index'

A new index shows the best and worst countries in the world when it comes to contributing to the greater good on a global scale.

Dubbed '#ZWE">The Good Country Index', the ranking is not based on morality, but rather on a country's contribution to the greater good of humanity - a country that serves the interests of its own people, but without harming the interests of people in other countries too.

"The Good Country Index doesn't measure what countries do at home. This isn't because we think these things are unimportant, of course, but because there are plenty of surveys that already measure them," said index founder, Simon Anholt.

"What the index does aim to do is to start a global discussion about how countries can balance their duty to their own citizens with their responsibility to the wider world, because this is essential for the future of humanity and the health of our planet."

The Index ranks countries across 7 main categories using data from the UN and other international organizations. It tracks global contributions to science and technology; culture; world order; peace and security; the environment; health; and equality.

Of the 163 countries covered by the ranking, Zimbabwe comes in at 138th, the highest-ranked African country is Mauritius at 33rd.

This is how Zimbabwe ranked out of 163 countries

    Science and technology - 88th
    Culture - 129th
    World order - 108th
    Peace and security - 142nd
    Environment - 150th
    Health - 78th
    Equality - 90th

    Overall - 138th

According to the index, Sweden it the biggest overall contributor to the global greater good, followed by Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK. On the opposite end of the scale, the world's weakest contributors are Libya, which came in last, below Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania and the Central African Republic.