This may be a case of statistics being manipulated to advance agendas of one kind or another. I don't know much about countries like Isreal, but doesn't Israel have some kind of instability in that their governements are changing so frequently ? The prime ministership is almost a revolving door. And they have the palestinian state demands with its ever pulpable attendant violence to contend with.

This is an African forum so I will comment on Africa and Uganda in particular. Uganda is probably a case of garbage in garbage out. The index or the inferences one can derive from the index don't bear out on what is happening on the ground. The quality of life for most Ugandans is worse not better. I will rattle off a few. Elemetary schooling is free, but the quality of education is laughable if it wasn't sad, because the schools are graduating pupils who can hardly read or write let alone do mathematics. Moreover the parents can't afford to pay for the minimum requirements that aren't free, like lunches and books or uniforms even though the school tuition is of course free. The medical services are basically non-existent; there are no hospitals with doctors and nurses, just as there are no medicines to dispense. The level of corruption is going through the roof and it is so endemic it has become a sub-culture to be defended in public; and sometimes by a head of state himself. The economic indicators they are using are misleading because a corrupt environment only drives away any would be investors and their capital. It not only makes it costly to do business, but it is also distrustful since it doesn't inspire confidence. There is not any market-capitalist Ugandan or otherwise willing to invest in a corruption ridden environment. The infrastructure is non existent; it is hard find a good road, clean water, and so on and so forth. To top it all the political climate is deteorating fast. It is an autocratic government where all decisions are made solely by the head of state; including sometimes amending the constitution in middle of the night with his cohorts. Now the government is holding a tight lid on the security situation so you get this misleading impression of a peace on the surface when in reality there is a lot of discontent and resentment simmering below, ready to burst and explode any moment.There is not a statistical parameter that can capture and reflect such a rather nuanced and cloudy scenario like that. So you have this false indices reflecting and presentig an erroneous state of favorable ratings on economic growth, say. This could probably make sense if you surveyed the seat of government where the ruling elite reside, beyond its environs you would be hard pressed to find this rosy picture that is constantly being portrayed or reported by these international instutions who more likely than not have their own agendas to advance. In the Uganda's case the international institutions are so much hungry to present a success story, they will to incredible lengths creat a success story largely to account for their exploits and win more funding next time around. And it doesn't hurt that they have found will good pupils in the rulers of countries like Uganda, who have never met any internationally sponsored study or project they didn't like. In the final analysis it is only statistics the true MATHEMATICS doesn't add up.