Ranking Agencies
Most of the rankings found on this website and in the book, We’re Number One!? come from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations, the US Census Bureau, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and other government agencies. In addition there are rankings from private consulting firms, trade associations, and academic centers. Here is a thumbnail sketch of each ranking agency.
Amnesty International.
British lawyer Peter Benenson in 1961 was outraged when two Portuguese students were jailed for raising a toast to freedom. That incident, brought to the larger public’s attention in the British newspaper the Observer, sparked what became a world-wide campaign against injustice. Amnesty International has grown from seeking the release of political prisoners to upholding the whole spectrum of human rights. “Our work protects and empowers people – from abolishing the death penalty to protecting sexual and reproductive rights, and from combatting discrimination to defending refugees and migrants’ rights. We speak out for anyone and everyone whose freedom and dignity are under threat.” Website: www.amnesty.org
Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO).
The ASO is a non-profit charitable organization in the United Kingdom dedicated to the understanding and treatment of obesity. It was the founding body of the highly respected International Journal of Obesity. Website: www.aso.org.uk
Bipartisan Policy Center
Founded by former Senate Majority leaders, Republicans Howard Baker and Robert Dole, and Democrats Tom Daschle and George Mitchell, the Bipartisan Policy Center strives to ensure “policymakers work across party lines to craft bipartisan solutions.”
The Center states that “by bringing together Republicans and Democrats—and providing them with the space, policy insights, and evidence-based research they need to negotiate in good faith—we help turn legislators’ best ideas into passable, durable laws.” Website: https://bipartisanpolicy.org
Center for Reproductive Rights
Founded in 1992, the Center for Reproductive Rights sees its mission as using the “power of law to advance reproductive rights as fundamental human rights around the world.” It envisions a world “where every person participates with dignity as an equal member of society, regardless of gender. Where every woman is free to decide whether or when to have children and whether to get married; where access to quality reproductive health care is guaranteed; and where every woman can make these decisions free from coercion or discrimination.” Website: https://reproductiverights.org.
Climate Change Performance Index (CCP1)
Published annually since 2005, the CCPI is an independent monitoring tool for tracking how well countries are performing on climate mitigation. The countries monitored are the fifty-nine countries and the European Union which collectively account for over 90 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. The CCPI is managed by a consortium of three organizations, GermanWatch e.V., New Climate Institute, Climate Action Network International. Website: https://ccpi.org
The Commonwealth Fund
Established in 1918 by philanthropist Anna M. Harkness, the Commonwealth Fund promotes a high-performing, equitable health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including people of color, people with low income, and those who are uninsured.” It carries out this mandate by “supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy.” Website: https://www.commonwealthfund.org
Credit Suisse Research Institute
This is the inhouse think tank for the banking firm Credit Suisse. It studies long-term economic developments that have a global impact.” One of its most important annual reports is the Global Wealth Report. Website: https://www.credit-suisse.com
DevelopmentAid
This Cyprus-based organization considers itself the “world’s premier information service provider for international development aid and economic and humanitarian assistance stakeholders.” It provides “up-to-date and critically relevant information to donors, agencies, consultancies, non-government agencies, and individuals working in the international development sector.” Website: https://www.developmentaid.org
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
Created in 1946, the EIU produced research and analysis “on everything from national elections and international trade, to food security and sustainable cities.” It assists businesses, financial firms, and governments understand how the world is changing, along with the opportunities and risks associated with that change. Website:https://www.eiu.com
Feeding America
Feeding America states that it is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. “We are a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries, and community-based organizations in the United States. We work to end hunger by providing food and support to millions of people.” Website: https://www.feedingamerica.org
Global Carbon Project (GCP)
The Global Carbon Project “integrates knowledge of greenhouse gases for human activities and the Earth system. Our projects include global budgets for three dominant greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide — and complementary efforts in urban, regional, cumulative, and negative emissions.” Website: https://www.globalcarbonproject.org
Global Drug Policy Index
This is a project of the Harm Reduction Consortium, “a global partnership of civil society and community networks aiming to challenge the global ‘war on drugs.’” It includes the Global Drug Policy Observatory at Swansea University. Website: https://globaldrugpolicyindex.net
Global People Strategist
This is a consulting firm, headed by alumni of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, that offers “human resources compliance solutions for companies with operations in 150-plus countries.” Website: https://www.globalpeoplestrategist.com
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Founded in 2007 with initial funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the state of Washington, the IHME’s goal is to provide “an impartial, evidence-based picture of global health trends to inform the work of policymakers, researchers, and funders. The IHME identifies the “world’s major health problems, how society is addressing these problems, and how leaders can best dedicate resources to maximize health improvement.” Website: www.healthdata.org
INRIX Research
Founded in 2004, INRIX notes that it is “one of the leading providers of data and insight into how people move around the world.” The consulting firm pioneered the practice of managing traffic by analyzing not just from road sensors but also from vehicles. It delivers “innovative products” for automotive and transportation industries. Website: https://inrix.com
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)
IDEA’s mission is to “support sustainable democracy worldwide. We do this by producing and sharing comparative knowledge on the different aspects of democracy and by acting as a facilitator for the exchange of ideas and experiences of democracy. We use this knowledge to support democratic initiatives in different regions of the world and to champion for democracy in the United Nations and the European Union.” IDEA issues annual reports on the state of democracy worldwide. Website: www.idea.int
Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR)
Founded in 1987, the IWPR is the leading think tank conducting research on the “quantitative and qualitative analysis of public policy through a gendered lens.” IWPR researches and reports on issues affecting women in employment, education and economic change; democracy and society, poverty, welfare and income security, and health and safety. Website: www.iwpr.org
JUST Capital
Founded in 2013, this not-for-profit charity has its mission to “build an economy that works for all Americans by helping companies improve how they serve all their stakeholders—workers, customers, communities, the environment, and shareholders. We believe that business and markets can and must be a greater force for good.” Their research addresses issues of income inequality and lack of opportunity. Website: https://justcapital.com
Legatum Institute
This London-based institute, founded in 2007, runs the Centre for National Prosperity, whose goal is to research prosperity, “how it can be measured and how it can be enhanced.” The flagship publication of this enterprise is the Legatum Prosperity Index, dedicated solely to the “factors that drive and restrain national prosperity.” Website: https://li.com
Migrant Policy Institute (MPI)
The Migrant Policy Institute was founded in 2001 and bills itself as a “leading institution in the field of migration policy and as a source of authoritative research, learning opportunities, and new policy ideas.” The MPI is funded by a wide variety of philanthropic institutions, corporations, and governments. Website: www.migrationpolicy.org
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Established in 1961, this Paris-based international organization has thirty-four member countries, primarily the developed countries in Europe and North America. Its mission is to “promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.” The OECD annually publishes a Factbook, containing valuable comparative statistical information about its member countries and other countries throughout the world, along with about 250 reports per year. Website: www.OECD.org
Our World in Data
Founded in 2011 by Max Roser and currently housed at the University of Oxford Martin School, Our World in Data is “committed to making progress against the world’s largest problems; to do so we need research and data to be available and accessible; and we believe that our work on this has a large positive impact in bringing us closer to a better future.” Website: https://ourworldindata.org
Prison Policy Initiative (PPI)
Founded in 1991, the PPI is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that “produces cutting edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization, and then sparks advocacy campaigns to create a more just society.” Website: http://prisonpolicysinitiative.org
Sensoneo
Based in Bratislava, Slovakia, this waste management company, founded in 2017, began as a waste monitoring company. It has since expanded its services to include waste and collection monitoring among other services. “Our goal from the beginning has been to help cities and businesses cope with the biggest challenges of waste management—lack of efficiency and transparency. Website: https://sensoneo.com
Skytrax Research
Based in London, Skytrax, an independent customer forum has been publishing airline, airport, and other air travel reviews since 1999. Some 550 airports are reviewed annually, and the rankings are based on customer surveys of quality, service, safety, and a wide variety of other measurements. Website: https://skytraxratings.com
Small Arms Survey
Based in Switzerland, the Small Arms Survey endeavors to strengthen “the capacity of governments and practitioners to reduce illicit arms flows and armed violence through three mutually reinforcing activities: the generation of policy-relevant knowledge, the development of authoritative resources and tools, and the provision of training and other services.” Its vision is “a world without illicit arms and armed violence.” Website: www.smallarmssurvey.org.
US News
US News is an American media company that publishes news, analysis, and rankings. It is particularly known for its rankings of colleges and universities. In developing its best countries rankings, US News along with its partners the global marketing firm BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, develop a set of seventy-three country attributes and interviewed 17,000 persons from across the globe to develop its best countries rankings. Website: https://usnews.com
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Established in 1971 by business policy professor Klaus Schwab, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the WEF engages “the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.” According to its Mission Statement, the WEF is “independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. . . And “moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does.” It is best known for the annual meeting of global leaders at Davos, Switzerland. Website: www.weforum.org.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information, and cooperation. It is a self-funding agency of the United Nations, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and it has 193 member states. “Our mission is to lead the development of a balanced and effective international intellectual property system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all.” Website: https://www.wipo.int
World Resources Institute (WRI)
The World Resources Institute is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI has nearly 1,800 staff located around the world. Its current president in Ani Dasgupta. In addition to global initiatives and a coordinated regional presence in Africa and Europe, it prioritizes work in twelve focus countries: Brazil, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and the United States. Website: https://www.wri.org
World Wind Energy Association (WWEA)
The WWEA is a non-profit organization composed of nearly 500 members representing the wind sector in 95 countries on all continents. The WWEA, with its headquarters in Bonn, consists of national wind energy associations--representing 50,000 members--as well as companies, scientific institutions, and public bodies. It annual reports is World Wind Energy. Website: https://wwindea.org