These are the 20 most socially progressive countries in the world

Ireland came in 11th, with the United Kingdom coming in 12th

Sarah Jones
Thursday 27 July 2017 11:30 BST
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(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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Denmark has officially been named the most progressive place to live in the world, according to a new study.

With the UK in political turmoil and Brexit looming, many unhappy residents have started to consider their options. In fact, the number of Brits applying for an Irish passport increased by 73 per cent in July compared to the previous year.

But, if it’s a more socially liberal country you’re after, you might want to consider moving to Denmark.

The country has been named the most progressive place to live in the world following a report published on the Social Progress Index in 2017.

The results highlight what life is like for people living in different nations taking everything from basic human needs including medication, sanitation, shelter and security as well as education, rights, freedoms and tolerance into consideration.

Europe was the continent which fared the best with 11 out of 14 countries entering the ‘very high social progress’ division. This includes Ireland entering in at number 11 and the U.K. at 12.

Other countries that made it into this category are Finland, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Austria.

Similarly, countries that were largely ranked as making ‘high social progress’ include Spain, Japan, United States, Italy and Poland.

However, African countries seem to have done the worst of all 128 ranked making up six of the seven deemed to have ‘very low social progress.’ The bottom five countries are Niger, Angola, Chad, Afghanistan and, taking the bottom spot, the Central African Republic.

Overall, the study revealed that the average global score has increased with the scale rising from 63.19 in 2014 to 64.85 in 2017.

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