Economic Capital Index

The Economic Sustainability Index

Long-term Economic Competitiveness

The Economic Sustainability Index measures the extent to which an economy can support defined levels of economic activity in the long term, based on the principles outlined in the first pillar of the five capital model (Framework for Integrated Reporting). Rather than focusing on current economic performance (GDP growth, trade balance, etc.), the index emphasizes structural factors that reflect the long-term sustainability of economic output.

Stability

GDP

Debt

Employment

Why Economic Capital Matters

Strong economic fundamentals drive sustainable growth and long-term value creation

For Investors

  • Reduced economic volatility and market stability
  • Better infrastructure for business operations
  • Higher female workforce participation indicates larger consumer markets
  • Strong IP protection and property rights reduce investment risk
  • Long-term growth potential through sustainable economic structures

For Businesses

  • Access to diverse talent pool through inclusive workforce
  • Reliable financial infrastructure and access to capital
  • Streamlined business registration and regulatory processes
  • Stable economic environment for long-term planning
  • Competitive export markets through trade diversification

Bottom Line: Countries with high economic sustainability scores provide stable, predictable environments with robust structural factors that support long-term economic competitiveness.

Economic Sustainability Indicators

Key clusters to measure structural economic strength and resilience

Economic performance sustainability

Evaluation of the current status and outlook of the economy in view of hollistic ESG considerations

Sectoral strength and balance

Analysis of the structural health and balance of the econpomy. High dependency on few sectors and/or industries can nehgatively affect development

Economic competitiveness

Evaluation of the national economic competitiveness under consideration of hollistic ESG aspects beyond generic short-term performance indicators

Innovation Competitveness

Performnce evaluation of the economy based on innovation capabilities. Sustainable economic development is based on innovation capabilites.

Financial markets sustainability

Evaluation of the stability of financial marlkets. High dependency on financial markets can lead to volatility not only in the financial markets, biut in the overall economy as well as social capital value

Import-Export balance

Evaluation of depoendency on internal and external markets for a balanced development of the economy that allows a country to propser independently of short.term global volatility

The State of the World

A global snapshot of economic sustainability performance and trends

Global Scores

Global Trends

Key Observations

1

Slovenia retains top position (#1) in Economic Sustainability, demonstrating strong structural economic factors

2

Central European nations dominate top rankings: Austria (#2), Czech Republic (#3), Ireland (#4), and Finland (#5)

3

Major economies show moderate performance: USA ranks 26th, China 41st, India 96th

4

Female labor participation emerges as key differentiator for top-ranked countries

5

Business climate and property rights protection correlate strongly with economic sustainability rankings

6

Emerging markets face structural challenges: Brazil ranks 78th, Nigeria 122nd, highlighting gaps in financial infrastructure

Economic Sustainability Rankings

Explore how countries compare across economic sustainability indicators

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Explore All Six Capital Dimensions

Discover how Economic Capital connects with Natural, Social, Intellectual, and Governance Capital

View All Dimensions