Just imagine, with excessively tough economic conditions and economists running to and fro, what it would be like if we could walk into the “Economic performance market” and just select the various key performing elements. So maybe we should plot the best performing countries in various categories and rank them accordingly.

Israel

I thought we’d start with Israel. It is a country that is particularly small and nestled in the middle of Arab countries in the Middle-East. The landscape is predominantly desert, but has been turned into an oasis. Known as the start-up nation, by density Israel has not only the most start-ups, but the most technology start-ups.

Digging deeper, a key lesson from Israel is that innovation is not just something that verves on inside of companies. Israel is made up of a wider culture of innovators than many care to believe or for a matter of fact, know. Israel thus is built in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Israel is a country of immigrants with over 70 nationalities represented in this tiny country’s population.

“Two out of every three Israelis are newcomers, or the children or grandchildren of newcomers. The Israeli battery-operated car grid company Better Place was founded by the son of an Iraqi immigrant. The Israeli company Koolanoo — the third-largest social networking site in China — was founded by the child of an Iranian immigrant. The Internet music start-up FoxyTunes — which was recently sold to Yahoo for tens of millions of dollars — was founded by a young Ukrainian immigrant.” – Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.

So we definitely need the Israeli chutzpah to sustain our country.

New Zealand and Nordic Countries

New Zealand, Denmark, Finland and Sweden have consistently ranked at the top of the Corruption Perceptions Index and professed and ranked as the least corrupt of all the countries. Not only are these countries the least corrupt, they are well managed and governed.

Not by any means are they perfect, as no country achieves the 10 out 10 ranking on the index, but many a country seeks out their recipe for achieving this success.  Another feature of the Nordic countries in that they rank high in the following areas due the management of their countries. The Nordic countries rank well in the following areas, Norway and Denmark in Global Competitiveness; Sweden, Denmark and Finland in Human Development; as a neighbor, Switzerland and Finland in Ease of doing business and Norway in Global Innovation.

Africa

I best that very few expected that Africa be included in the top list. Well Africa should. For one, despite insurmountable corruption and illegal outflows, Africa still has a sustainable supply of natural resources like no other continent.  Africa also has 60 percent of the world’s arable land that can be used without imposing on the environment negatively.

Africa also has a large youth population segment that has the potential to fit into the development of African countries. Given the mix of available arable land, required infrastructure, youth potential in the workforce, breeding ground for new innovation in systems, processes and technology and the elevation of the informal sector that sustains the African GDP by at least 55 percent is relevant for the growing divided between rich and poor.

Thailand

Thailand is a newly industrialized country. Its economy is heavily export-dependent, with exports accounting for more than two-thirds of its gross domestic product (GDP). The nation is recognized by the World Bank as “one of the great development success stories” in social and development indicators.

Most people have no idea that Thailand has the lowest unemployment rate in the world. It is extremely low, and has been steadily decreasing from what the rest of the world deems high of 5.73 percent in 2001 to the current rate. There are various reasons for this rate, giving Thailand the number one spot for unemployment in the world.

China

China is the largest exporter and the second largest importer in the world, making it the largest manufacturer also.  The Chinese Republic became the largest manufacturing country in the world, overtaking the U.S. in 2010 and did so under a communist, one party state. The exports primarily consist of toys, apparel and electrical and electronics products.  Significantly China maintains a 70 percent market share of the toy manufacturing industry.

Another key area is the amount of investment the Chinese government puts into start-ups and innovation that is catching up with certain parts of the world. When I visited China in 2012, it was phenomenal to see just how a communist country had succeeded in building a nation from industrial policy.

The United Kingdom

Populations are either growing fast, even if slower, they are growing and even if there is an older population bearing down on the health sector, it needs to be in top shape for a developed nation. The United Kingdom ranks first overall, outclassing on the highest on quality, access and efficiency.

The is  a huge endorsement of the health service, especially as it spends the second-lowest amount on healthcare among the 11 countries surveyed  – just £2,008 per head, less than half the £5,017 in the US. Only New Zealand beat the UK on spend.

South Korea

South Korea is lauded for their super, yet extremely tough education system. It is without a doubt, (and certainly not the first time I have mentioned it in my posts) an education system that helped transform the South Korea into an emerged and rapidly grown-up economy over the past 60 years.

If you though you took Education serious think again! South Korea invests significantly in education and ‘during the second half of the 20th century, and in 2010, spent 7.6 percent of its GDP on all levels of education.’

What’s driving these levels of investment? As reported in The Economist, it’s competition for college places:

“Throughout their children’s school years, they [South Koreans] spend an extraordinary amount preparing them for the brutally competitive day-long university entrance exam, the suneung.”

Germany

Last but not least, the mighty Germany. Germany has for Europe an overall superiority in the industrial segment of their global standing. For the most part, Germany has made astronomical strides in various segments such as energy, automotive, re-engineering and innovation.

Germany has an outstanding record of taking legacy innovations and improving on these, cutting investment, time and effort that would normally be spent on re-inventing the wheel. This aspect has kept the Germans at the forefront of the automotive segments, with four global brands of which three are entirely luxury model vehicles.

So here you have it. If I were to put together my own country, I’d consider a mix of the countries listed above. Each of these economic elements is critical not only for the past, but going forward towards achieving the MDG’s.

Just imagine, a perfect country.

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