SA rated in global entrepreneurship index
South Africa ranks 74th out of 142 countries in the latest Legatum Prosperity Index‚ a global assessment of national prosperity based on wealth and wellbeing.
The country achieved its best ranking for entrepreneurship and opportunity, at 34, with business start-up costs very low in comparison to the global average.
When questioned: Can people get ahead by working hard? 88.3% of respondents answered in the affirmative, against a global average of 81.70%.
For ICT-related research, the Legatum Prosperity Index finds that South Africa has 126.80 mobile phones per 100 people ( in 2010), as opposed to a global average of 105.60.
Mobile phones per household in SA is put at 94.80% in 2010, from 83% globally.
ICT exports as a percentage of total exports is at 1.00% in 2010 in SA, versus a global figure of 2.00%.
The country falls behind when it comes to research and development (R&D) expenditure as a percentage of GDP, at 0.70% in 2010, against a global average of 0.90%.
The US ranks outside of the top ten for the first time (down to 12th), pulled down primarily by a decline in the Entrepreneurship & Opportunity sub-index. This fall is driven by a decline in the number of US citizens who believe that hard work will get them ahead and a decrease in ICT exports
Top 15:
| Rank | Country |
| 1 | Norway |
| 2 | Denmark |
| 3 | Sweden |
| 4 | Australia |
| 5 | New Zealand |
| 6 | Canada |
| 7 | Finland |
| 8 | Netherlands |
| 9 | Switzerland |
| 10 | Ireland |
| 11 | Luxembourg |
| 12 | United States |
| 13 | United Kingdom |
| 14 | Germany |
| 15 | Iceland |
A breakdown of South Africa’s ranking in other fields highlighted by the Legatum Institute include the economy (87), entrepreneurship and opportunity (34), Governance (45), Education (89), Health (114), safety and Security (100) personal freedom (48), and social capital (80).
Among the 30 lowest ranking countries in the Index, 24 are in sub-Saharan Africa. The highest ranking sub-Saharan African country is Botswana (70th), followed by South Africa (74th) and Namibia (83rd).
The 2012 Index includes 16 new sub-Saharan African countries, all of whom rank among the bottom 40 of the Index.
Many African countries perform best in the Social Capital sub-index, including Zambia, Sudan, Uganda, Mali and Tanzania, who rank among the top 60 countries, in this sub-index overall.
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