The SCDI measures the change in various development indicators from 2000-12 using GDP per capita, years of education, life expectancy, environmental health (including air pollution and availability of fresh water) and ecosystem vitality (or the long-term sustainability of the environment, including climate change). It is an indicator of progress over a period of time, rather than a static ranking at any given point, the firm said in a statement.

The report revealed that Ghana, Uganda, Korea, Bangladesh and Singapore emerged as the best performers in the inaugural SCDI, with Egypt, Nigeria, India, Brazil and Indonesia making up the remainder of the “top ten”.

The report covers 31 economies, both from the developing and developed world. The majority of the economies in the sample, particularly emerging markets, have seen progress across most of the five factors of sustainable growth, the firm said.

“Our report and the measures within the SCDI highlight the point that as countries become more wealthy and middle classes grow, these issues naturally become higher priorities and are implemented via regulations, government spending or stakeholder insistence,” said John Calverley, head of macroeconomic research and the author of the report.

“Issues remain around distribution of income and meeting the need for environmental sustainability across many of our markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. However, there are significant efforts among governments, international agencies, NGOs and researchers to analyse, discuss and formulate policies on these issues. We hope our report makes a contribution to this continued focus,” said Calverley.