Azerbaijan improves positions in Quality of Nationality Index

By Azernews

By Ofeliya Afandiyeva

Azerbaijan has improved its position in the latest Kälin and Kochenov’s Quality of Nationality Index (QNI).

Over the year, Azerbaijan improved its position in the overall ranking by three lines. At the same time, over the past 5 years, the country has added 0.4 percent.

According to the index, Azerbaijan gained 30.1 percent of a possible 100 percent, securing the 100th place

Holding the top spot for eight consecutive years, France earned a score of 83.5 per cent — less than one percentage point ahead of Germany and the Netherlands, which sit in joint-2nd place with 82.8 percent. While the difference between the quality of French and Dutch and German nationalities is relatively narrow, France’s comparative advantage lies in its greater settlement freedom (attributable mainly to the country’s former colonial empire).

In the top 10 on this year’s index, Denmark finds itself in 3rd place with a score of 81.7 percent, while Norway and Sweden hold joint-4th spot with 81.5 percent. Positions 5-10 are held by Iceland (81.4 percent), Finland (81.2 percent), Italy (80.7 percent), the UK (80.3 percent), Ireland (80.2 percent), and Spain (80.0 percent), in that order.

The US occupies 25th place on the QNI with a score of 70.0 percent — the country’s relatively poor standing is primarily due to its low settlement freedom compared to EU member states. China ranks 56th — a four-place improvement on last year, and the Russian Federation climbs up 2 positions to 62nd place. The UAE has attained its highest rank ever, securing 42nd place.

The bottom three nationalities on this year’s QNI are South Sudan (157th), Afghanistan (158th), and Somalia (159th), with respective scores of 15.9 percent, 15.4 percent, and 13.8 percent.