Where in the world is life changing the fastest ?
Social Technologies, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm, tries to determine and quantify this with its new Speed of Change Index. The index factors changes in urbanization, literacy, civil liberties, gross domestic product per capita and access to a telephone, TV and the Internet. For each category, Social Technologies pulled data from the most authoritative single source it could find, including the UN Development Programme, Freedom House and the World Resources Institute.
The more these factors have changed over the last
10 to 15 years, the higher the score. Scores were adjusted to a 100-point scale.
1)- Bosnia: 100 Points
Bosnia's rapid change is propelled by twin rebounds--both from war and from decades of communist rule. Gross domestic product growth in the country of 4.5 million people, roughly the land area of West Virginia, has exceeded 5% in each of the past five years. Still, Bosnia ranks second, behind Macedonia, as the poorest of the former Yugoslav republics. Although 25% of the population falls below the poverty level, a fifth of citizens use mobile phones (a slightly higher rate than fixed telephone line usage).
2)- Albania: 86 Points
The small country that borders the east coast of the Adriatic Sea won independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but didn't end Communist rule until 1991. Its parliamentary democracy is busy transforming the economy into a market-oriented system. Helps explain why gross domestic product per capita has increased from $2,550 in 1990 to $6,649 (estimated) in 2008. Albania boasts a 99% literacy rate among youth ages 15 to 24 and a reduction in the absolute poverty rate, from 25.4% in 2002 to 20% in 2006.
3)- Taiwan: 84 Points
Taiwan has the distinction of being the fastest-moving wealthy country on the Speed of Change Index. Its economy thrives on exports that have propelled real GDP growth of 8% during the past three decades. Cable TV usage of around 80% and even higher rates of Internet use make Taiwan's media market one of the world's most free and competitive.
4)- China: 76 Points
China, which aims for 8% growth in gross domestic product this year, is extraordinary in that it is simultaneously large and fast moving. Human rights groups correctly assert that limited political freedoms have remained stable, but China has a great deal more social freedoms than it did 20 years ago. The upcoming Beijing Olympic Games are expected to showcase changes in the country's demographics and economic development.
5)- Cape Verde: 75 Points
Economic reforms launched in 1991 are bearing fruit for the former Portuguese colony comprising 10 islands in the North Atlantic. In 2007, the U.N. graduated Cape Verde from its category of "least-developed countries"--only the second time the organization has taken this action--and in June 2008, Cape Verde became the 153rd member of the World Trade Organization. Internet usage growth of 362% since 2000 exceeds that of Tanzania's.
6)- Mozambique: 73 Points
When its civil war ended in 1992, Mozambique, which borders Tanzania to the north and South Africa to the south, was among the world's poorest nations. It's still near the cellar, but per-capita GDP in 2007 was $800, a sharp increase over the mid-1980s level of $120. Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the country's workforce, which is a drag on the country's 48% literacy rate.
7)- Burundi: 71 Points
It's only been 15 years since Burundi's democratically elected president was assassinated--an event which triggered persistent violence among ethnic groups. The country's 60% literacy rate is about 20 points lower than the global average, and the disparity does not bode well for improving civil liberties or the meager mobile phone usage, at just 2%.
8)- Estonia: 70 Points
This Baltic dynamo is springing back to being European after decades of forced association with the relative backwardness of Russia. It also earns high marks on Forbes' "Best Countries for Business" rankings, because its market-based economy produces one of the highest per-capita income levels in Central Europe. Nearly 20% of Estonia's Web users connected via broadband last year.
9)- Guinea-Bissau: 70 Points
The West African nation, a former Portuguese colony, is one of the smallest on the African continent. A major exporter of cashew nuts, Guinea-Bissau has also been identified by the U.N. as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Europe. A national electoral commission oversaw the 2005 presidential election, and international observers monitoring the poll called it "free, fair and transparent." But recent political infighting means the risk of instability runs higher.
10)- Chile: 65 Points
Ranking far higher than other Latin American countries on the Speed of Change Index, Chile has managed to change from military dictatorship to free society in less than 20 years. Over the past three years, the surging price of copper, which accounts for 45% of exports, has resulted in windfall revenues for the government and Chilean mining companies. Chile ranks as Latin America's least corrupt country: No. 20 out of 163 countries worldwide, according to Transparency International.
Forbes
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