A global think tank has said the Grand Duchy is one of the top 20 most prosperous nations in the world, although it fell several places compared to last year’s tables. Luxembourg dropped six slots to number 16 in the 2014 “Prosperity Index” (PDF), which was released on Monday.

The index looks at wealth, economic growth and quality of life in 142 countries.

The Grand Duchy was down from number ten in 2013, and number eleven in 2012, the first year it was included in the annual study by the Legatum Institute.

The institute--backed by the privately held United Arab Emirates and UK-based investment group Legatum--used data from academic, NGO and public opinion surveys to create its ranking.

Globally Luxembourg placed between 14th ranked Germany and 15th placed Austria, and 17th ranked Belgium and 18th placed Singapore.

The top ten countries worldwide were Norway, Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Canada, Sweden, Australia, Finland, the Netherlands and the US.

The lowest ten were Guinea, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Togo, Afghanistan, Yemen, Burundi, Congo, Chad and the 142nd placed Central African Republic.

Luxembourg: high health, middling education scores

Legatum’s overall prosperity rank is composed of scores in 89 measures grouped into eight broad fields. The Grand Duchy landed in the top ten in the health field (number two globally), entrepreneurship & opportunity (5th) and governance (6th) sub-indices. It was 11th in the economy section and 17th in safety & security.

Luxembourg scored slightly less well--in the second highest quantile--in personal freedom (32nd) and education (45th). The personal freedom category examined civil liberties and freedom of association, and if the country is a “good place to live” for ethnic minorities and immigrants. Although the Grand Duchy scored well above the global average in these measures, other countries--such as Australia, New Zealand and Norway--did better.

The education sub-ranking was dragged down by Luxembourg’s low university enrolment rate, based on 2010 data: 18.2% in the Grand Duchy compared to the 39.6% global average. The figure was 61.7% in Germany.