Romania maintains its 45th place in the global ranking of the Social Progress Index, which evaluates quality of life and social well-being across 171 countries. The index is compiled by the non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative, with support from Deloitte.
According to the research, Romania's overall score was 74.49 out of 100, similar to 2024 (74.61). Although this result remains below that of most EU countries, it keeps Romania in the second-tier group, which it entered in 2022.
The latest report shows that stagnation in social progress is a global phenomenon affecting almost every region, with around a third of the countries analysed recording declines over the past year.
Romania improved its position in the global ranking for basic human needs, moving to 45th place from 49 in 2024, remained 45th in opportunity, and fell slightly in well-being, to 63rd from 61st previously. Analysing the indicators within these three categories, Romania scored highest in nutrition and medical care (36th globally, up from 41) and housing (36th, up from 43). Improvements were also recorded in water and sanitation (58th, up from 72).
Conversely, the lowest scores were in basic health and education (86th in both categories), highlighting Romania's gap compared with peer countries with similar GDP per capita, including Hungary, Croatia, Poland, and Greece.
The report notes that GDP growth and Social Progress Index performance are not directly determined by one another, but some countries are more successful than others in converting economic growth into social progress. For instance, despite having similar per capita GDP, the USA's social progress is nearly 10 points lower than Denmark's (81.76 versus 91.16). Similarly, the USA and Latvia have comparable social progress scores, even though Latvia's per capita GDP is half that of the USA.
'One trend highlighted by the report is the weakening link between economic performance and social progress in recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend is also visible in Romania, an economy that has experienced one of the fastest growth rates in the European Union but continues to face challenges in areas such as education, healthcare, and reducing regional inequalities. To achieve economic growth that positively impacts citizens' well-being, measures are needed not only to maintain investment growth (public and private, both foreign and domestic) but also to strategically direct it towards social infrastructure and specific regions and industries,' said Alexandru Reff, Country Managing Partner, Deloitte Romania and Moldova, quoted in the report presentation.
Norway remains first in the world in 2025, with a score of 91.73 (down slightly from 91.95 the previous year), followed closely by Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland, all scoring over 90, though either stagnant or slightly down from the previous year.
Since 2011, the largest improvements have been in information and communications, housing, advanced education, and water and sanitation, with the countries showing the highest gains in social progress being Fiji, Saudi Arabia, and Moldova.
Europe recorded an overall score of 79.18, a slight increase from 79.13 the previous year, ranking second among regions after North America (82.1, up from 81.74). Compared with 2011, Europe has seen the greatest improvement in air quality, although global progress in this area remains slow, despite a brief improvement during the COVID-19 period.
Social progress in the world's most populous countries has also slowed. After years of steady improvement, India and China have seen slower growth in social progress since 2021.
Social progress is defined as a country's ability to meet citizens' basic needs and enhance quality of life, while creating opportunities for individuals to develop and reach their potential.
The Social Progress Index has been published annually since 2011 by Social Progress Imperative, calculating the index based on three main dimensions: basic human needs (nutrition and basic medical care, water and sanitation, housing, personal safety), well-being (basic education, access to information and communications, health, environmental quality), and opportunity (personal rights and freedom of expression, personal freedom and choice, inclusion, advanced education).
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