Have you ever asked yourself which is the best country to live in?
Well, when we want to know which country that is, we usually tend to take a look at the
countries GDP.
But…
however important and relevant this indicator might be, it has certain…
limitations.
See, this statistic is too wide and can hide the influence of bubbles, the actions of dishonest
politicians, and more complex issues like accounting for the online economy...
It is true, though, that wealth and comfort are closely related to the GDP.
But it is not an exact correlation.
Let me explain: we could be analysing a country with a per capita GDP higher than another,
but the latter could have a better welfare despite having a lower GDP.
And there are other factors as well that are not strictly economic but also affect the
social wellbeing of people, such as security or freedom.
Alright, so now I know what some of you are thinking...
Don’t all these things result in a wealthier country, with a higher GDP?
Well, yes, probably, but it usually takes a while before any of this can be seen in
terms of numbers and statistics.
For instance, Kuwait's GDP per capita might be higher than in Germany, however, when given
the choice, I’d probably prefer to live in the latter...
It is also more likely that Germany will do more complex and high-added value activities
like creating patents and innovative companies…
at least in the long run.
In other words: Kuwait might be richer but, at the same time, Germany might be taking
better advantage of its wealth in order to produce welfare, sustainable wealth, technology
and knowledge.
Seems a pretty sensible decision, right?
Well, that is why there are new indicators to try to make a more accurate approximation
so we can work out the prosperity and comfort of different nations.
One of them is the famous Legatum Prosperity Index...
“National success is about far more than just GDP.
It is about a healthy and happy life, a good education for our children, a clean and protected
environment, family and communities we can rely on, a safe place to live, opportunities
to start a business or get ahead, and the freedom to be who we want to be.
This is true prosperity.
Legatum Institute”.
And, do you know what?
According to the latest rankings, the most prosperous country on Earth is…
New Zealand!
THE MOST PROSPEROUS COUNTRY
To try to get a deeper knowledge of the prosperity of a country, beyond the GDP, the Legatum
Prosperity Index considers tons of different factors: economics, business, civil liberties,
government, education, environment…
Well, every aspect that accounts for quality of life in a country.
So, in the latest ranking, the result was clear: nowadays New Zealand, the land of kiwi,
is the most prosperous country on the planet.
And honestly, it wasn't a surprise at all.
New Zealand has taken first place six times in the last ten years.
Not bad, right?
And now you might be wondering: Which are the countries New Zealand is competing with
to win the crown of the best country on Earth?
Well, you won't be surprised...
At the top of the list we can find countries like Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Canada
or Australia.
It’s tough competition!
I should mention that we are soon going to explain on this channel show this country
achieved all of this after so much crisis.
So you know, if you want to know more, do not forget to subscribe!
But, let’s move on…
If you think New Zealand is ranked number one for just this indicator, you couldn’t
be more wrong...
If we consider the Doing Business ranking, for instance (a ranking that classifies countries
according to how easy it is to set up a company and do business) we can see that New Zealand
is also in the number one spot in the latest ranking.
“New Zealand Dethrones Singapore as Easiest Place to Do Business”
If we use the Index of Economic Freedom from the Heritage Foundation, we will see New Zealand
in third position, right after Singapore and Hong Kong…
If we use the ranking of the Fraser Institute (a ranking that considers both economic and
civil freedom) New Zealand is also in the top 3, just behind Hong Kong and Switzerland.
And if this is not enough for you and you want more specific information, I can also
tell you that New Zealand is the least corrupt country on Earth according to Transparency
International.
A position it shares with Denmark.
Yep, unlike other countries we happen to know well...
it is very uncommon for this country's government to have their hands in the till...
Furthermore, this is also one of the safest countries in the world, one of the most environmentally
friendly, and it also has the All Blacks, the best national rugby team in the planet!
But let’s stop talking about rankings because we could go on forever…
They do seem to make one thing clear, and that is that on paper New Zealand sure does
look like one of the best places in the world to live…
By the way, jere is a surprising fact about Aotearoa (as it is said in Maori - which is
an official language there).
They are really proud of the Maori culture and the integration of these polynesian people
the British found when they arrived on these islands.
It is true, no matter where you go, the Maori culture is present.
Okay, so moving on… on the 23rd of September 2017, elections took place in this country.
A RECORD ELECTION
The first thing we need to remember is that New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy.
That´s right: Elizabeth II is still the queen of this country.
But it is just a symbolic position.
In New Zealand the government is elected by the parliament and the term lasts three years.
Further, when New Zealanders go to vote, they have to vote twice:
One of the votes goes to a single candidate from one political party.
This will will complete a part of the parliament - the other will go to an MP who will represent
their district.
So, as we said, on the 23rd of September New Zealand held an election and it was a clear
victory for the National Party of Bill English.
Bill English already was, by the way, the Prime Minister since the resignation of John
Key in December 2016...
We are also going to talk about this former prime minister some day.
So, this new victory for the National Party was historical in a way.
And it was for two reasons: first: because never before had this party got so many votes
in an election.
And second: because if the new government is confirmed, the National Party will have
been in power since 2008, the longest period in office for a party in New Zealand for more
than 50 years And truth be told, there are plenty of reasons
why Bill English won:
As we have seen, the country is in great shape.
In fact it is going through one of its best moments in history.
The economy is growing well, employment is higher than the OECD average, and unemployment
is scarce.
Plus they also have healthy public finances.
“During Mr English’s eight years as finance minister unemployment fell, the budget returned
to a surplus and New Zealand enjoyed one of the highest growth rates in the developed
world” The National Party’s intentions to continue
with the politics they have carried out since 2008:
More trade, a balanced budget, and also to keep also the immigration rates higher than
ever.
This has been a very important aspect of their political campaign.
I mean, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
“181,000 jobs have been created in the last two years, and the average annual wage is
up $13,000 under National.
Someone working on the minimum wage has seen their annual income go up $8,000 since 2008.”
Despite this all, the campaign hasn't been as comfortable as some expected…
After all, even in the most prosperous country there are challenges and unsolved issues.
JACINDMANIA AND CHALLENGES
When Jacinda Ardern was elected leader of the Labour Party, the Party wasn’t exactly
going through it’s best moment.
In the elections of 2014, the Labour Party barely got the 25% of the vote - about half
the votes of John Key’s National Party...
However, shortly after they chose a new leader who was only 37 years old, and things started
to change…
The press called it “Jacindmania”.
Two things have been the keys of Jacinda´s campaign: housing and immigration.
You see, one of the problems in New Zealand is the price of houses, something that has
skyrocketed in the few last years.
Here, the price of housing has increased much more than in Australia, Canada, or the United
States.
“New Zealand tops world house price increase”
But why is the price of housing growing so much?
Well, for several reasons, but there are 3 main ones causes:
First: Economy and salaries are increasing a lot in New Zealand.
Second: Immigration rates are higher than ever.
This is one of the countries that receives more immigrants every year (relative to their
population, of course).
And more immigrants means a greater demand for housing.
And third: because many millionaires and investors, especially from Asia, but also from other
parts of the world, want to buy houses here to but their money in a safe place… and
also to enjoy the country!
One example of these people would be Jack Ma, the CEO of Alibaba.
The National Party wanted to tackle this issue by making construction easy and fast; The
Labour Party of Jacinda Ardern came up with two suggestions: first, reducing the number
of immigrants by half, and second, prevent foreign investors from buying houses in New
Zealand...
It was this speech on housing and immigration that revived the support of the party, and
the polls seemed to indicate, at times, a very close race...
But once the elections arrived, the kiwis, they didn't hesitate...
Let´s be clear: New Zealand is a great country.
It has some obstacles to overcome: housing, improving Maori integration, and working on
its technical education, but these in the grand scheme are small problems.
We are going to discuss this all in a future video, but for now, New Zealanders enjoy one
of the best living standards in the world.
Anyway, now it is your turn: Would you like to spend some time in New Zealand?
Leave your answers in the comments below!
Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for brand new videos every Monday and Thursday.
Also, don’t forget to check out our friends at the Reconsider Media Podcast - they provided
the vocals in this episode that were not mine!
And as always, thanks for watching!