2024 · 41 rich democracies · what the data says about turning wealth into lived wellbeing.
The headline: wealth ≠ wellbeing
The United States ranks 40 of 41 on converting wealth
into wellbeing (residual -13.6) — while ranking 5 on wealth itself.
It is rich, and it under-delivers on lived quality of life relative to peers at the same income.
Best converters
Iceland — residual +16.5 (#1)
Denmark — residual +11.9 (#2)
Sweden — residual +9.4 (#3)
Weakest converters
Korea, Rep. — residual -24.3 (#41)
United States — residual -13.6 (#40)
Croatia — residual -12.7 (#39)
Fastest improvers since 2015
Turkiye — +8.4 on conversion
Iceland — +7.6 on conversion
Korea, Rep. — +6.5 on conversion
Where the US does well (in full)
The honest wins make the losses believable. Across the wellbeing pillars, the US ranks best on:
Environment — #8 of 41 (85.3/100)
Social connection — #25 of 41 (59.1/100)
Wealth — #5 of 41 (the US is among the richest)
…and weakest on:
Time & work–life (#35), Safety (#36).