Economic Competitiveness: In its Global Competitiveness Report for 2013–2014, the World Economic Forum ranked Iceland 31 out of 148. “Despite significant difficulties in recent years,” reads the report, “Iceland continues to benefit from a number of clear competitive strengths.” These include Iceland’s “top-notch educational system,” and an innovative business sector which successfully adopts new technology.
Prosperity: The 2012 Prosperity Index (LPI) published by the Legatam Institute, a non-partisan public policy organisation, rates Iceland 15 out of 142 when considering eight different categories ranging from the economy and entrepreneurship to personal freedom and social capital. A few representative statistics from the report include: 90.8% of Icelanders surveyed reported that they were satisfied with beauty of the environment; 47.1% said they had helped a stranger recently; 97.7% said they could rely on a friend or family member for help. At the same time, 60.9% of respondents they believed businesses and government agencies were corrupt, and only 25.9% had confidence in the national government.