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Zimbabwe one of the worst places to live or do business
Harare Tribune
October 15, 2008

View article on the Harare Tribune website

Zimbabwe, thanks to human rights abuses, economic crisis, dictatorship, and lawlessness has been ranked 99 out of 104 countries in the Legatum Institute's 2008 Properity Index.

The Legatum Institute's Prosperity Index of 104 nations measures the material health of a country, including wealth, quality of life and life satisfaction.

The spectacular collapse of the Zimbabwean economy has destroyed the foundations of what once was one of the most prosperous African nations, leaving the country near the bottom of both the Economic Competitiveness and the Comparative Liveability rankings.

Ultimately, however, the reasons for the Zimbabwean crisis are political rather than economic. Unsurprisingly, Zimbabwe's governance scores, for both regulatory quality and effectiveness, are the worst of all countries sampled.

Australia has topped this year's index, followed by Austria and Finland.

The Dubai-based investment group said Australia beat other countries because of its strong economic performance, governance and high quality of life.

"(Australia) has reinvented itself as a wealthy, service-oriented economy with good scores on liveability indicators, including health, charitable giving and effective governance," Legatum said.

"Strong norms of civic participation, robust health and plenty of leisure time contribute to the high liveability ranking."

While Asian powerhouses Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong scored well economically, their liveability dragged down their performance.

Institute vice-president William Inboden said Australia had the fundamentals right.

"True prosperity consists of more than money -- it also includes happiness, health and liberty," Dr Inboden said.

"The Prosperity Index shows that in addition to economic success, a society's prosperity is based on strong families and communities, political and religious liberty, education and opportunity, and a healthy environment.

"The Australian Government earns high scores on corruption control and overall effectiveness, supporting the country's quality of life in many areas.

"Strong civic participation by Australian citizens furthermore contributes to the high levels of life satisfaction."

Though Zimbabwe was bottom of the list, it fared much better than Tanzania and Zambia, which are ranked at 100 and 102 respectively.

Zimbabwe's performance on the index was undercut by lawlessness, and toxic economic environment that hs seen foreign investment shrivel up over the years.

Zimbabwe's formerly democratic institutions have been overthrown by an authoritarian government does not respect the human rights of its citizens, rigs elections and severely represses any opposition to its rule.

A land seizure from white farmers has crippled the agricultural sector; a slum clearance in 2005 left 700,000 homeless; and increasing international isolation has cut off the flow of development aid.

The population suffers acute food shortages and high rates of malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV. The economy faces hyperinflation, de-industrialisation, and an exodus of the workforce into South Africa and Botswana.

The US was rated equal fourth, alongside Germany and Singapore.

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