The Friendliest Countries in the World for Expats 2018

A 2018 survey from InterNations, the largest global network and information site for people who live and work abroad, has looked at data and comments supplied by almost 13,000 expats from 188 countries and territories to reveal which are the friendliest countries in the world to live.

Portugal claims the title of the most welcoming country for expats, according to the latest results of the Expat Insider survey. An overwhelming majority of 94% of expats currently living in Portugal said locals have a friendly and helpful attitude towards expats. Rounding out the top five spots are Taiwan, Mexico, Cambodia, and Bahrain.

Not ranking in the top ten – or even top 20 – are Ireland and the UK, which are in 30th and 56th place, respectively, reflecting how unwelcome people from abroad can feel in these countries. On the other hand, Portugal has been ranked number one, followed by Taiwan, Mexico, Cambodia and Bahrain.

Freedom in the World 2018

Freedom in the World is an annual global report published by Freedom House in the U.K. measures political rights and civil liberties, composed of numerical ratings and descriptive texts for each country and a select group of territories. The 2018 edition covers developments in 195 countries and 14 territories from January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017.

• Democracy faced its most serious crisis in decades in 2017 as its basic tenets—including guarantees of free and fair elections, the rights of minorities, freedom of the press, and the rule of law—came under attack around the world.
• Seventy-one countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties, with only 35 registering gains. This marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
• The United States retreated from its traditional role as both a champion and an exemplar of democracy amid an accelerating decline in American political rights and civil liberties.
• Over the period since the 12-year global slide began in 2006, 113 countries have seen a net decline, and only 62 have experienced a net improvement

 

Global Wealth Report 2018

Global wealth increased by US$ 14 trillion last year – with China ranking second after the USA. Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Report  2018 breaks down the world's wealth and analyses the global outlook. The report is the most comprehensive source of global household wealth information. It analyzes wealth held by 5.0 billion adults across the globe, from the least affluent to the wealthiest individuals. Now in its ninth edition, the report includes a focus on female wealth holdings, in particular on gender differences with males.

The global mean wealth of US$ 63,100 per adult masks considerable variation across countries and regions.

Switzerland (US$ 530,240), Australia (US$ 411,060) and the United States (US$ 403,970) again head the league table according to wealth per adult. The ranking by median wealth per adult favors countries with lower levels of wealth inequality and produces a slightly different table. This year, Australia (US$ 191,450) edged ahead of Switzerland (US$ 183,340) into first place.

Global wealth is projected to rise by nearly 26% over the next five years, reaching USD 399 trillion by 2023. Emerging markets are responsible for a third of the growth, although they account for just 21% of current wealth. 

 

World Bank Ease of Doing Business 2019

The World Bank has released its latest Ease of Doing Business 2019 rankings - an annual report that ranks countries on business-friendliness, procedural ease, regulatory architecture and absence of bureaucratic red tape. 

Highlights:

• 4 of the 10 top improvers—Afghanistan, Djibouti, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo—are countries suffering from fragility, conflict and violence
• One-third of all business regulatory reforms were in the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa—a total of 107 reforms and a record for the region
• 2 countries from Eastern Europe and Central Asia made the top 10:  FYR Macedonia in 10^th and Georgia, edging up two spots to 6^th
• Brazil recorded the largest score improvement in Latin America and the Caribbean, reforming in four areas.
• United Arab Emirates entered the top 20 in 11^th place.
• China, one of this year’s top 10 improvers, advanced more than 30 spots to 46th place in the global rankings.
• India became South Asia’s top-ranked economy, advancing 23 spots to 77th place in the global ranking.

 

 Full Report: World Bank Doing Business 2019

Global Peace Index 2018

The 12th annual "Global Peace Index" by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an independent non-profit think tank based in Australia, scored 163 independent states and territories according to their levels of peacefulness. 

The study assessed global peace through three filters: safety and security in society, extent of ongoing domestic or international conflict and the degree of militarization. Researchers considered 23 peace indicators to determine scores, including the number of casualties from terrorism and conflicts in that country, the number of murders per capita and the ratio of military spending to gross domestic product.

Key Highlights of the Global Peace Index 2018:

• Global level of peace has deteriorated by 0.27 percent in the last year.
• A total of 71 countries have shown improvement in their rankings on the index, while, 92 countries have shown deterioration in their rankings on the index.
• Amid continuing social and political turmoil, the world continues to spend resources on creating violence, but very little on peace.

Iceland fetched 1st rank on the index, a position it has held since 2008, followed by New Zealand and Austria at 2nd and 3rd position. Portugal and Denmark rounded up the top five most peaceful rankings.

Syria remains the least peaceful country in the world, a position it has held for the past five years. Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Somalia round up the list of five least peaceful countries. 

Full report here: Global Peace Index 2018

Global Rule of Law Index 2018

The WJP Rule of Law Index® measures rule of law adherence in 113 countries and jurisdictions worldwide based on more than 110,000 household and 3,000 expert surveys. Featuring primary data, the Index measures countries’ rule of law performance across eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice.

Fundamental human rights are reported to have diminished in almost two-thirds of the 113 countries surveyed for the 2018 Rule of Law Index, amid concerns over a worldwide surge in authoritarian nationalism and a retreat from international legal obligations.

While the Nordic trio of Denmark, Norway and Finland again rank first to third in the index, the United Kingdom has dropped out of the top 10 to 11th place overall. In all, 38 countries have seen their overall Rule of Law score diminish since the last index.

Of the 35 countries classified as “high-income” in the report, the United States ranks 19th, just ahead of Korea and behind France. But in the fundamental rights category, the US falls five places to 26th, with worsening levels of discrimination and due process of law plus decreased guarantees of the right to life all contributing to this downward trajectory.

 

World Human Development Index 2018

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.According to the latest Human Development Index, people living in the very high human development countries can expect to live 19 years longer, and spend seven more years in school, than those living in the group of low human development countries.

The overall trend globally is toward continued human development improvements, with many countries moving up through the human development categories: out of the 189 countries for which the HDI is calculated, 59 countries are today in the very high human development group and only 38 countries fall in the low HDI group.  

Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland and Germany lead the ranking of 189 countries and territories in the latest Human Development Index (HDI), while Niger, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Chad and Burundi have the lowest scores in the HDI’s measurement of national achievements in health, education and income.

The U.S. has dropped in a global ranking of human development -- tumbling eight spots since the start of the decade to No. 13, according to a United Nations index tracking health, education and economic well-being.

Global Liveability Index 2018

According to The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Livability Index 2018 a measurement of the world's best cities to call home, not a single U.S. city was good enough to make the cut. The Global Livability Index compares world cities with each other in terms of security, affordability, education, healthcare, its urban lifestyle and infrastructure. 

At least four world class cities have fallen from the top 10 over the past year—Auckland (from 8th to 12th), Perth (from 7th to 14th), Helsinki (from 9th to 16th) and Hamburg (from 10th to 18th)—despite the fact that none of these cities have seen a deterioration of the main items being measured.

 

The ten most livable cities in 2018

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Melbourne, Australia
3. Osaka, Japan
4. Calgary, Canada
5. Sydney, Australia
6. Vancouver, Canada
7. Tokyo, Japan
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Adelaide, Australia

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The ten least livable cities 2018

1. Damascus, Syria
2. Dhaka, Bangladesh
3. Lagos, Nigeria
4. Karachi, Pakistan
5. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
6. Harare, Zimbabwe
7. Tripoli, Libya
8. Douala, Cameroon
9. Algiers, Algeria
10. Dakar, Senegal

Global Workers' Rights Index 2018

The Global Rights Index reports on annual survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights. It ranks 142 countries against 97 internationally recognized indicators to assess where workers’ rights are best protected in law and in practice. The report rates countries from one to five according to these indicators, with an overall score placing countries in rankings of one to five.

1 Sporadic violations of rights: 13 countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden. The other country is Uruguay.

2 Repeated violations of rights: 23 countries including Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Portugal, Switzerland

3 Regular violations of rights: 26 countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom.

4 Systematic violations of rights: 38 countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Serbia

5 No guarantee of rights: 32 countries including Belarus, Greece, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine.

5+ No guarantee of rights due to breakdown of the rule of law: 10 countries including Palestine.

The 2018 report’s key findings include :

• 65% of countries exclude some groups of workers from labour law.
• 87% of countries have violated the right to strike.
• 81% of countries deny some or all workers collective bargaining.
• Out of 142 countries surveyed, 54 deny or constrain free speech and freedom of assembly.
• The number of countries in which workers are exposed to physical violence and threats increased by 10% (from 59 to 65) and include Bahrain, Honduras, Italy and Pakistan.
• Countries where workers are arrested and detained increased from 44 in 2017 to 59 in 2018.
• Trade unionists were murdered in nine countries - Brazil, China, Colombia, Guatemala, Guinea, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria and Tanzania.

The Most Populated Cities on Earth

 

With population levels across the world growing at alarming rates, here are the megacities (defined as cities with populations of 10 million or more) listed in the United Nations World's Cities in 2016 report.

Highlights of the Report (2016):

• The world's cities are growing both in size and number
• One in five people worldwide lives in a city with more than 1 million inhabitants
• Most megacities are located in the global South
• The share of the population residing in cities in projected to increase in all regions
•  Most of the world's fastest growing cities are located in Asia and Africa
• In 28 countries or areas, more than 40 per cent of the urban population is
  concentrated in a single city of more than one million inhabitants
• Most cities are vulnerable to at least one type of natural disaster
•  A majority of city dwellers live in cities that face high risk of disaster-
  related mortality or economic losses

 

10. New York-Newark, United States

The city of New York, also known as the "Big Apple" and "The City That Never Sleeps," and neighboring Newark are home to approximately 18,604,000 people.

9. Cairo, Egypt

Romanticized in movies and literature, Cairo is a beautiful place to visit for the holidays, but may not be the best place for those who are claustrophobic. Approximately 19,128,000 people call this city home. Its high population can also be attributed to its many state-of-the-art universities and medical centers.

8. Osaka, Japan

With its charming corner shops and rich cultural scene, Osaka has attracted many foreigners to come and live in the beautiful city. This has led Osaka to become one of the most populated cities on earth with a population of roughly 20,337,000. The city, however, has also been experiencing a low birth rate of late, which is predicted to cause a decline in its population in the coming years.  

7. Mexico City, Mexico

A financial hub for Latin America, a cultural center that celebrates the modern and the ancient, and a city that was built on top of the capital city of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlán , Mexico City is certainly an extraordinary city with a population of around 21,157,000 people.

6. Beijing, China

As over 1.3 billion people live inside China's borders, it is not shocking that its capital is one of the most crowded cities on earth. With a population of about 21,240,000 people, there's no shortage of excitement in this city.

5. São Paulo, Brazil

As the most populated city below the equator with an approximate population of 21,297,000, São Paulo houses an incredible array of institutions from finance to culture.

4. Mumbai, India

Attracting people from nearby cities because of its cosmopolitan charm and job opportunities, Mumbai now has a population of around 21,357,000 people. And with its total wealth reaching around US$280 billion, it certainly offers outstanding opportunities.

3. Shanghai, China

As China’s most populated city, Shanghai is certainly not for those tired of the hustle-and-bustle of city life. With a population reaching 24,484,000 people, the city has become a financial center and home to the world’s busiest port.

2. Delhi, India

With a population projected to reach 36 million by 2030, it may be an under-statement to say that Delhi is a very crowded city. Today, it is home to approximately 26,454,000 individuals.

1. Tokyo, Japan 

 

Although its population is predicted to begin declining, Tokyo is still projected to hold the top spot as the most populated city on earth until 2030. Modern, stylish and full of culture, Tokyo is one of the most captivating cities to live but also the most tightly packed. And, in a city of approximately 38,140,000 people, you are sure to have a hard time pushing through the crowds to get to your destination.

 

Source: The Jakarta Post

 

The Global Village

 

A Summary of the World: Earth as a village of 100 people. 

Almost everybody likes the term Global Village. The term is readily used today especially by writers, broadcasters, politicians and public relation guys, to emphasize the shrinking distances between nations through internet, mobile phones, and cheap flight tickets, as well as the fact that news are traveling with the speed of light around the globe, and they unlikely forget to mention the possibilities of producing and selling "worldwide", speak, making business/money globally.

So, but what does it really look like, our much acclaimed Global Village? If we could shrink the Earth's population of 7 billion to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this:

The village would consist of 61 people from Asia, of whom 19 would be from China, and almost 18 would be Indians, there are 15 people from Africa, 10 guys from Europe, not quite 9 would be from South America and the Caribbean, and 5 from North America.

Their native language would be: 12 are speaking Mandarin Chinese, 5 would speak Spanish, 5 would speak English, 5 would speak Hindi or Bengali, 3 would speak Arabic, more than 2 speak Portuguese, 2 speak Russian, 2 speak Japanese, and 1 speaks German, the rest of the villagers can choose one or the other of the 6000 languages spoken on the planet. 33 would have a Christian background, 22 an Islamic one, almost 14 are Hindus, there are 7 Buddhists, and 2 are atheists.

26 would be under 14 years old. 8 are 65 years and over. 82 would be from less developed countries with an average income of US$ 5,440 in a year, this is the equivalent disposable income of just $15 a day, but 51 of those would live on less than $2 a day. 40 would lack access to basic sanitation and 13 would lack access to safe drinking water.  25 would live in substandard housing or have no home at all.

65 would live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. The village's population would use 77 mobile phones, but they are unequally distributed, some of the villagers would have 2 or more cell phones, other none. 33 would be Internet users, 15 would have Internet access from home and 12 would be active users of Facebook.

Source:One World Nations Online

World Press Freedom Index 2018

The 2018 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, reflects growing animosity towards journalists. Hostility towards the media, openly encouraged by political leaders, and the efforts of authoritarian regimes to export their vision of journalism pose a threat to democracies. 

In this year’s Index, Norway is first for the second year running, followed – as it was last year – by Sweden (2nd). Although traditionally respectful of press freedom, the Nordic countries have also been affected by the overall decline. Undermined by a case threatening the confidentiality of a journalist’s sources, Finland (down one at 4th) has fallen for the second year running, surrendering its third place to the Netherlands. At the other end of the Index, North Korea (180th) is still last. 

The Index also reflects the growing influence of “strongmen” and rival models. After stifling independent voices at home, Vladimir Putin’s Russia (148th) is extending its propaganda network by means of media outlets such as RT and Sputnik, while Xi Jinping’s China (176th) is exporting its tightly controlled news and information model in Asia. Their relentless suppression of criticism and dissent provides support to other countries near the bottom of the Index such as Vietnam (175th), Turkmenistan (178th) and Azerbaijan (163rd).

When it’s not despots, it’s war that helps turn countries into news and information black holes – countries such as Iraq (down two at 160th), which this year joined those at the very bottom of the Index where the situation is classified as “very bad.” There have never been so many countries that are colored black on the press freedom map.