NZ suddenly jumps to the top of another obscure index (click to enlarge – source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Social_Progress_Index.svg
How did New Zealand go from ‘No information’ (image above, data below from Jan 2014) to top of the index so quickly? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Social_Progress_Index
Social progress index as it appeared in Jan 2014
Four months later, according to The Social Progress Imperative website, New Zealand now
“tops the world on indicators of personal rights and freedoms, and comes in the top four for water and sanitation, access to schooling and tertiary education, and tolerance and inclusion of minority groups.
Of course, the NZ press seized on this blatant piece of propaganda, without giving it a second glance.
Any journos out there ever considered finding out who chose to supply the data for these indices, and who decided that they should be reported on by the NZ press?
This is how the index was reported on by the UK’s Guardian in April 2013, no sign of New Zealand then either.
But seeing how this is an election year anything goes. The silly season is well and truly upon us.
Update Feb 2016
We have a look at the index for 2015 and added every measure of well-being in all three categories. This is how New Zealand is looking now:
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Study reveals startling new data on wellbeing – or the lack of it – in NZ (July 2013)
“On the day that the NZ Government launched a fresh campaign to rob beneficiaries of their basic human rights (further evidence of the runaway poverty gap the country suffers from) Sovereign life insurance has issued a press release showing that New Zealand fares badly in international standards of wellbeing.
In comparison to 22 European countries using the same set of measurements, New Zealand consistently ranked near the bottom in personal and social wellbeing – far behind the Scandinavian countries in the lead.
Among the most surprising results were New Zealanders’ disconnectedness from their communities (this sent them to the bottom of the table) and nearly two thirds of young people showing signs of depressed mood. Last year Sovereign announced it was to sponsor Youthline, which provides a 24-hour helpline that fields more than 15,000 contacts a month from young people needing support for issues from bullying to loneliness. It subsequently provided much of a $100,000 contribution to the organisation in May… read on”
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A quick look at homicide stats for the OECD
Stanford research information on homicide rates and income inequality
E2NZ.org 
Since you mentioned that we’ve been watching city data. Battleneter appears to be emotionally unstable and prone to irrational outbursts.
http://www.reddit.com/user/reprocity
Good old New Zealand, the country that has 20% of its population overseas, has 20% of its children living in poverty (which probably means 20% of its adults as well), has one of the highest violent crime rates per capita in the developed world, has one of the highest levels of child abuse in the developed world, has one of the highest rates of suicide in the developed world, has some of the most expensive low quality housing in the developed world, uses 85% of the total world supply of a poison banned in most countries……….
And has made more social progress than any other country.
YEAH RIGHT.
A lot of these comments are based on personal biases with no sources to back up their “facts”. I live in Chicago and know for a fact that New Zealand does not have the highest violent crime rates per capita in he developed world. I also lived in Texas where one of our four children live in poverty.
Personal biases? It’s real 100% pure experience talking. We all adore moon from earth, it looks fantastic, fascination etc etc…..however you can’t imagine living there….forEVER!
The Index is published by Washington DC USA based Social Progress Imperative organisation funded, partly, by CISCO (US multinational) Deloitte (US multinational), Viva Trust (Bill Gates, Coca Cola,) the Skoll Foundation (US – Jeff Skoll of Ebay). Data for the Index supplied mainly by UN agencies,(FAO, UNESCO), WHO and Gallup World Poll (US based). Agencies collect data from ”official administrative sources at the national level” i.e Statistics New Zealand, a government department. On 28 October 2013 the US and NZ governments (Hagel/Coleman) announced expanded defence cooperation after an earlier visit to NZ by a US delegation. Of course the numbnut, noball Kiwi journos are going to ignore this one like a tourist being attacked in the street.
Remember that if you have generous dole and working-poor programmes <for all the unemployed who don’t bugger off to Australia>, and national health care, and NO MEASURABLE POVERTY THRESHOLD you can score highly on indices like this one. For instance, Uruguay, as laudable as its latest policies are is also, with NZ, a welfare state http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state – and how many people from the UK, Canada or Germany would up and move to Uruguay, even setting aside the language issue? Yet this places NZ and Uruguay both very high in rankings such as these. Remember too that with the Human Development Index, the Kiwis “seem” to place high because of a missing IHDI (Inequality-adjusted HDI). Similar statistics foolery is going on with this latest index. Submit selective statistics to a “Scandinavian type” index and look good. Costs next to nothing and boosts their image. Something we all know NZ works very hard to do. They score lower here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Sen_social_welfare_function NZ “worst” rates include: drowning rate, child abuse rate, imprisonment rate, and…income inequality http://www.closertogether.org.nz/inequality-in-nz/
Glad to see that my soubriquet of Retardicon 6 is catching on. I’ve been back in England for more than 15 months now and still feel like every day’s a holiday having escaped from the hell hole. Please encourage EVERYONE to call the lying mendacious ugly cheating grasping cess-pit “Retardicon 6.” It will be appropriate for it to have this new name to go with its new flag. God knows it’s earned the name. I am a seasoned world traveller and have lived in several countries. But I have still never experienced the lack of integrity, morality, decency, education, culture and intellect that I found to be the absolute norm in Retardicon 6. Loathsome country. Loathsome people.
Oh, and for the record you Retardicons out there – you don’t OWN Lord of the Rings OR the Hobbit. I have to mention that because the MAJORITY of cretins I came across down there (that’s nearly everyone) seemed to think that they were originally set in Retardicon 6 and that was why they were filmed there. I kid you not, hard though it is to believe. So, Retardicons, let me give you the skinny-low, as we say in Hollywood… The Hobbit AND Lord of the Rings are QUINTESSENTIALLY ENGLISH. Not even British. ENGLISH. Get that? No one could have been more English than the Oxford Don, JRR Tolkien (he wrote them, by the way, just in case you’re wondering who I’m talking about, you illiterate scabs). And “the Shire” isn’t some crappy region of cattle meadows made toxic by the unrestricted use of chemicals on the land, allowed to slurry into the water systems because of the morons of Retardicon 6 – it’s actually based on Staffordshire and other of the shire counties bordering Birmingham. These are all in England, which I mention because I know that geography isn’t a strong point with you either. I could make other correspondences for you, but even morons like you should get the picture by now… although,,,, no, never mind.
Anyway, I understand that winter is approaching for you all down there. Be sure to stock up on the chemicals you’ll need to remove the mould from the walls and ceilings of the shacks and wooden-framed tents that you call houses down there. I go camping here and my European tent has far greater weather-proof properties than your homes. At least it doesn’t leak – which is more than can be said for the rubbish put up by your chimps with hammers – whoops sorry, you call them New Zealand Master Builders…
Anyway, can’t stop. Have exciting things to do. Cultural things. I’d tell you about them but it would all go right over your cretinous illiterate heads.
Toodle-pip!
Fully agree with your comments. However, the “Shire” is more based on Worcestershire and Warwickshire – I don’t think Staffordshire makes much sense for Tolkien’s world.
thanks for your comment; loved it! Totally in agreement and very funny to read; at least something is making me laugh down here in New Zealand Hell! 😀 … “the lying mendacious ugly cheating grasping cess-pit” … “I have still never experienced the lack of integrity, morality, decency, education, culture and intellect that I found to be the absolute norm … Loathsome country. Loathsome people. … illiterate scabs.” Hahahaha! You got that right brother! 😀 …I have concluded the same about New Zealand. I am here as a university researcher for a few months and cannot wait to leave this hell-hole! … My experience here has been so horrific in every conceivable way, that I am going to write a long story about it when I am finished with my work and finally have the time. I have already warned a colleague to not come down here; he just finished a book that is selling very well in Australia and was thinking of coming to NZ to promote it, but I told him don’t bother; no one here has any interest in self-improvement and New Zealanders, even if you can get them to read a book, generally are not intelligent enough to read books written above elementary school level. Another colleague was thinking of coming here on holiday and I warned him about the realities he will encounter and he quickly changed his holiday plans. So, that’s two highly intelligent people who will not be coming down here to waste their money in this hell-hole. I think all intelligent people should just stay away from NZ because they will find it to be a horrific place for any thinking, reflective people who are awake (as opposed to walking around in a numb, thoughtless, zombified state as is the typical New Zealander). I can see why drug addiction and alcoholism and suicide are so prevalent here. I can see why NZ has the highest suicide rate in the world for young people; I feel sorry for anyone born to Kiwi parents; poor kids, if they feel like dying, imagine them trying to talk about that very legitimate feeling with their Kiwi parents who are like talking to pieces of cardboard rather than real people… no wonder so many kids commit suicide here; it is their only escape from this hell on earth!
If you had published this on 1 April, then I would have assumed it was an April Fool’s Joke. The study no doubt failed to mention the deleterious effects of living in damp, cold, and mouldy houses nor examined the truth behind the numbers.
We must ask ourselves why 1 out of every 5 Kiwis lives overseas if New Zealand is an enviable utopia that all countries should emulate? Interestingly, the overseas Kiwis I meet are far better people compared to the morons of Retardicon 6 (aka New Zealand).