The US ranks nearly last in a list of rich countries that improve lives in the developing world — here's the full ranking

pulse

September 6, 2017 6:24 PM

Put out by the Center for Global Development, the Commitment to Development Index ranks the 27 richest countries for their efforts in helping poorer countries.

The US placed 23rd out of 27 countries.

Created by the Center for Global Development, the CDI ranks the 27 richest countries in terms of aid, finance, technology, environment, trade, security, and migration — specifically in terms of how they help poorer countries.

Sweden, Finland, France, and Germany rounded out the top five.

"In our integrated world, decisions made by rich countries about their own policies and behavior have repercussions for people in developing nations," the report read. "The [CDI] celebrates countries whose policies benefit not only themselves, but also the development of others, and promote our common good."

Beyond just airlifting supplies during a disaster, the CDI rewards countries based on their financial investments, policies and actions fighting climate change, trade deals, and warmth toward refugees, among other considerations .

Denmark won top honors for its first-place rank in security and aid, in addition to placing highly across the other five metrics. Sweden and Finland, two other Scandinavian nations, also placed highly in most categories. The report noted Denmark still had "room for improvement," however.

"Even though it takes a large share of international refugees, Denmark accepts the lowest proportion of students from developing countries of all countries assessed," the report read.

Notably, the US placed below all of the Central European Visegrád countries, which include Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland, "whose income per head is less than half that in the United States." The US lagged in scores related to finance, environment, and aid. Despite a global agreement that countries would devote 0.7% of their national income to environmental efforts, the US commits just 0.18%, the report found.

Here is the full ranking:

1. Denmark

2. Sweden

3. Finland

4. France

5. Germany

6. Portugal

7. Netherlands

8. United Kingdom

9. Norway

10. New Zealand

11. Austria