http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20031004/RBOARD04/TPBusiness/TopStories
Health
Although Canada spends more on health care than all but three OECD
countries, the country finished only ninth -- tied with Australia -- on the
Conference Board's ranking for health indicators, a disappointing result
that "should raise alarm bells."
The top performer was Iceland, followed by Switzerland and Sweden, while
France finished at the bottom of the top 12. The United States, although it
is the biggest spender of all on health care, was 20th on the expanded
list.
Canada did exceptionally well in one category -- perceived health status.
In a new -- and utterly subjective -- measure, people were asked to rate
their own health. Canada was No. 1 in the survey, with 88 per cent
reporting that they were in good health, compared with an average of 73 per
cent for all countries. Paradoxically, the lowest-ranking country was
Japan, where fewer than 41 per cent said their health was good, even though
Japan has one of the world's highest rates of life expectancy.
Canada should work to improve its position in international rankings of
infant mortality, premature mortality, mortality as a result of cancer and
road accident injuries, the board says. Canada's infant mortality rate is
double that of Iceland and has "deteriorated significantly" in recent
years, falling to 17th from fifth among all 30 OECD countries between 1990
and 1999.
Canada scores poorly in ratings of the number of doctors, nurses, magnetic
resonance imaging units and radiation therapy equipment. Although these are
not an accurate measure of the health system's effectiveness, the board
says, they are the best ones available for comparisons.
One happier note: Canada's tobacco consumption is the lowest of any OECD
country, "which should lessen the burden of disease and the demand for
future health care resources."
Society
Canadians usually compare themselves with Americans on social indicators,
which "tends to give us a false impression of how well we are doing," the
board says.
The United States doesn't even crack the top 12, but Canada is not much
further ahead; it ranked 10th in a tie with Japan that left both countries
well behind the leaders -- Denmark in first place, and Sweden and the
Netherlands tied for second.
If that's good news, "the bad news is that we believe Canada is in jeopardy
of dropping from the list of top-12 countries in the future -- as it has
done in the environment category -- unless we introduce reforms."
Among the top dozen, two poverty pictures emerge. Those 65 and older have
the lowest risk of living in poverty, "a social policy success story that
demonstrates now concerted policy action can produce results," the board
says.
At the other end of the age spectrum are children. On that scale, Canada
ranks 12th, with a child poverty rate that means 15.5 per cent of kids --
six times Sweden's leading 2.6-per-cent rate -- live in a home where the
income in less than half the median income.
Although child poverty is closely correlated with single-parent families,
the board says, a comparison of Canada and Finland is unflattering. Both
countries have similar proportions of single-parent families, but in
Finland, only 7 per cent are poor, compared with 52 per cent in Canada.
The gender wage gap is also a problem for Canada, which ranks 11th on the
list in this indicator. In France and Belgium, there is about a
10-percentage-point gap between the median earnings of men and women
working full time. In Canada, women's earnings are 28 points lower than
those of men.
Canada eases back
Despite gains in some areas, Canada slipped relative to others last year in
the Conference Board of Canada's report card. While the country placed in
the top 12 in all six groups of indicators in 2002, it made the top 12 in
only five categories in 2002. Canada is well down the list for its
environmental efforts, dropping to 16th.
10 Economy indicators
Rank/Country/Score
1/South Korea/12
2/Norway/11
3/Ireland/10
3/Canada/10
3/Australia/10
6/United States/9
6/Austria/9
8/New Zealand/8
9/Switzerland/7
9/Denmark/7
11/Britain/6
12/Sweden/5
16 Innovation Indicators
Rank/Country/Score
1/Finland/19
2/Sweden/18
3/Iceland/17
3/United States/17
5/Canada/13
6/Netherlands/11
6/Switzerland/11
8/Belgium/10
8/Denmark/10
8/Australia/10
11/Germany/9
12/New Zealand/8
16 Environmental Indicators
Rank/Country/Score
1/Denmark/23
2/Sweden/22
3/Austria/21
4/France/19
4/Germany/19
6/Britain/18
7/Japan/17
7/Switzerland/17
9/Finland/16
10/Norway/15
11/Italy/14
11/Netherlands/14
17 Education & Skills Indicator
Rank/Country/Score
1/Norway/23
2/Finland/22
3/Sweden/19
3/Australia/19
5/Denmark/18
5/Canada/18
7/New Zealand/17
8/Britain/15
9/United States/12
10/Ireland/11
10/Switzerland/11
12/Germany/9
25 Health Indicators
Rank/Country/Score
1/Iceland/32
2/Switzerland/28
3/Sweden/26
4/Japan/25
4/Norway/25
6/Netherlands/24
7/Finland/23
7/Germany/23
9/Australia/22
9/Canada/22
11/Italy/20
12/France/18
16 Society Indicators
Rank/Country/Score
1/Denmark/25
2/Sweden/23
2/Netherlands/23
4/Belgium/20
5/Finland/19
6/Switzerland/17
7/Austria/16
8/Germany/14
9/France/13
10/Canada/10
10/Japan/10
12/Australia/9
SOURCE: CONFERENCE BOARD OF CANADA
THE SERIES
Performance and Potential 2003-04:Defining the Canadian Advantage
This series is based on an in-depth Conference Board of Canada report on
economic, social and environmental issues facing Canada. The full report
will be released Thursday, and will be available then at
http://www.conferenceboard.ca.
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