In 1993, Japan was widely considered the world's most advanced country. In two decades, a lot has changed. Japan has seen the incomes and overall prospects of its citizens shrink, while competing nations such as South Korea have advanced in leaps and bounds.
Even so, Japan's technological capacity is exceptional. Over the next three years, Japan will produce the most advanced eco-town in the world. The site for the 1 000-home development is at Fugisawa, a coastal city 50km west of Tokyo. For the first time, smart grids will be used based on 'entire solutions' technology developed by Panasonic.
With the world's population having recently tipped over seven billion, and concerns of resources and climate at a peak, nine companies are partnering to make the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town as energy-efficient as possible. Fugisawa's suburbs will be capable of producing solar electricity. Batteries in each individual home will store surplus energy. And by integrating various smart grid technologies, Fugisawa hopes to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% (with 1990 as a baseline).
While Fugisawa seems impressive, one of the reasons behind its development is undoubtedly a growing concern over Japan's energy future. After the Fukushima disaster, Japan must re-invent itself, retrofitting cities and suburbs, transforming these spaces into far greener, ultra-energy-efficient grids. Japan has some of the world's most technologically advanced transport systems, and perhaps one of the most highly educated populations, but the country as a whole is far from the world's most advanced.
One way to gauge the living conditions between countries is to examine a composite statistic known as the Human Development Index (HDI). Various formulas are employed, which calculate average levels of life expectancy, education, income and a few other factors. According to HDI arithmetic, Japan, a small, overpopulated, polluted series of islands, is currently the 12th most advanced nation. Australia and New Zealand feature far more prominently. The top slot goes to Norway, a country that has remained at the top of the HDI list for most of the last decade. Other contenders include Canada and Iceland.
A cursory look at the leading candidate countries immediately offers insights into what ingredients are key to advancing a country's prospects. These include relatively low population size, a homogeneous population, good governance, an abundance of resources, technologically advanced transport and communication infrastructures, energy independence and relative isolation.
Norway matches all of these criteria. With a population of less than five million, and a landmass of over 385 000 square kilometres (13 people per square kilometre), Norway is one of Europe's least densely populated countries. It is emptier than New Zealand. And it has vast reserves of oil and natural gas (the largest per capita oil producer outside the Middle East), timber, seafood, fresh water and hydroelectricity.
Norway provides universal healthcare, free public education and subsidised tertiary education. The countries Gini coefficient (a measure of inequality) is the fifth lowest in the world, in large part due to an inclusive social security system. Norway's natural environment is impressive. National Geographic has described Norway's fjords as the world's number-one heritage site.
“Carved over millennia by massive glaciers, Norway's Geirangerfjord and Nfrxyfjord are among the world's longest and deepest and, according to the UN World Heritage advisory board, “among the most scenically outstanding anywhere”. One judge called a Geirangerfjord cruise “an astonishing, complete natural experience”.
Beyond Norway's biodiversity, Norway is economically in excellent shape. After Luxembourg, Norway has the world's highest GDP per capita in the world. The country has a mixed economy with very low unemployment (3.1%). Interestingly, government jobs account for 30% of the workforce. Norway, sometimes known as a 'welfare state', has the world's highest proportion of its workforce on welfare (22%), but simultaneously, Norway's hourly productivity (and hourly wages) are the highest in the world. State ownership in key industries is significant, including petroleum interests (Statoil), aluminium (Norsk Hydro), banking (DnB NOR) and telecoms (Telenor). Norway maintains the world's sixth-largest merchant shipping fleet. Significantly, as the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, and third-largest gas exporter, 28% of state revenues come from oil revenues, comprising a fifth of GDP. Twenty percent of Norwegians place a priority on religion, the fourth-lowest rate in the world.
Norway's capital, Oslo, makes world headlines in December each year when the Nobel Peace prize is awarded.
The prize-giving ceremony typically involves 250 guests who tuck into a five-course meal. In 1979, the banquet was called off for the first and only time in its history, as the winner, Mother Teresa, refused to attend. Instead, Mother Teresa spent her $7 000 (in lieu of the banquet cost per person) on providing dinners for 200 of India's indigents on Christmas Day two weeks later.
While Norway's high-tax, high-wage, high-benefit culture is to a large extent built on a late fossil fuel bonanza, the large government undoubtedly governs its assets (including its people) judiciously. Norway provides valuable lessons for all nations, but SA in particular would do well to emulate Norway's policies fostering economic equality, productivity and employment.
While Norway is comfortably number one on the Human Development Index, SA does not feature within the top 50, or even the top 100, for that matter. In Norway, we see how important the natural endowment of a country can be. The scenery, the air, and the local resources (minerals, produce and food) all play a vital part in nourishing the citizens. This natural, national legacy determines, after all, the level of health and longevity of a people, and fosters a collective sense of happiness.
First published in the February 2012 issue of ITWeb Brainstorm magazine.
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