MINSK, 11 November (BelTA) - Belarus rose 29 points to 54th position on Legatum Prosperity Index which ranks prosperity across 110 nations (in 2009 Belarus was 85th), BelTA learnt from the press service of the Economy Ministry. The British independent research institute Legatum started publishing Legatum Prosperity Index in 2006. This rating takes into account eight parameters, including economic development, education and health, governance, business opportunities, social capital, personal freedom, safety and security. In 2010, Norway ranked first and Denmark second. Then go Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The most highly ranked nations among the post-Soviet countries are Estonia (35th), Lithuania (42nd), Latvia (47th), and Kazakhstan (50th). Russia is ranked 63rd, Ukraine 69th, Uzbekistan 76th and Moldova 86th. Thus, Belarus is fifth in terms of prosperity across the former Soviet Inion nations. The press service also informed that Belarus has greatly improved its position in the rankings on the Corruption Perceptions Index, which is published by Transparency International, an international nongovernmental organization. If in 2009 Belarus was 139th on the Corruption Perceptions Index, in 2010 it moved to the 127th position (up 12 points). The Corruption Perceptions Index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 178 countries around the world. The index is based on 13 independent surveys. Belarus also improved its position in the Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation (Washington) with the participation and support of The Wall Street Journal. In 2010, Belarus was 150th out of 183 countries, up 17 points from last year. The rating indicates improvements in Belarus across such indicators as freedom of business, freedom of trade, fiscal freedom, government spending and freedom of labor relations.

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