Social Progress Index 2025
Social Progress Imperative · Published July 2025
Latest edition: July 2025 · Next expected: July 2027
This ranking is questionable. The frame is sound, but data lags and proprietary survey microdata keep full replication out of reach.
What the report claims
The Social Progress Index measures 171 countries on 57 social and environmental outcome indicators, grouped into three dimensions: basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing, and opportunity. GDP is excluded entirely. India ranks 110th of 171 in the 2025 edition, essentially stagnant near 110 despite years of strong economic growth. The 111 of 170 figure sometimes cited is the 2024 edition, not 2025. The method is openly published, with equal weights across the three dimensions and PCA-derived weights inside them, and the indicators cite named producers.
The Credibility Score, dimension by dimension
- Methodology transparency / replicability
- 12 / 20
- Source verifiability + measurement integrity
- 13 / 25
- Internal consistency of India’s place
- 10 / 20
- Construct validity / India coverage
- 5 / 10
- Independence and funding
- 7 / 20
- Accountability (corrections, versioning)
- 2 / 5
Funding and independence: The Social Progress Imperative is a registered nonprofit governed by an independent board and academic advisory committee, with a mission to put social-progress measures into public and corporate decisions. Named partners and donors include the Skoll Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and Deloitte, but the report does not disclose exact grant sizes or individual corporate contribution amounts. The ranks are computed in-house, and method changes are documented with back-calculated series, though there is no standing public corrections log.
Sources: Social Progress Imperative, Social Progress Index 2025
Updated 9 November 2026