Is The United States Still The Best Country In The World? Think Again Hershey H. Friedman Brooklyn College - Department of Business Management State University of New York (SUNY), Empire State College June 24, 2015 Abstract: This paper examines the rankings of the United States in key areas so that people can see for themselves how well the country is actually doing. Areas examined include: percentage of people living below the poverty line, children living in poverty, income inequality, median wealth per adult, happiness, GDP per capita, Corruption Perception Index, quality of education and health, democracy ranking, size of prison population, and stability as a nation. Sadly, the United States does poorly on many of the above measures. The 2015 Social Progress Index, which considers 52 different measures, ranks the United States 16th out of 133 countries. It is hoped that examination of the above statistics will make people aware of how much needs to be done if the United States wants to remain a world power. Is The United States Still The Best Country In The World? Think Again - Introduction Americans must stop convincing themselves that nothing is wrong and that the United States is still number one in the world. Let us examine our rankings in key areas and see how well the United States is actually doing on various measures of well-being. The first myth to be dispelled: we are no longer the world’s largest economy when adjustments are made for purchasing power parity. On... More