In the basic human needs category Slovenia placed 15th(with a score of 93.75), while it placed 23rd in the foundations of well-being category (83.13) and 20th in the opportunity category (75.92).

"Slovenia fared particularly well in indicators such as personal freedom and freedom of choice and tolerance, especially to immigrants," said Polona Čufer Klep of Deloitte, which was a partner in the 2016 SPI survey.

Together with the comparable countries such as the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Lithuania, Hungary and Latvia, Slovenia reached a good score in the field of access to food and basic medical care.

On the other hand, the said countries fared poorly in the fields of health and wellness, primarily because of a relatively large number of deaths related to non-transmissible diseases.

A majority of EU countries record a high level of social progress, with Finland reaching the highest score (90.09). The countries that fared the worst are mainly located in Central Africa and the Middle East.

"Half of the world youth lives in countries with a low level of social progress, where the access to basic health care, clean water, security, personal freedoms and tolerance is limited," said Čufer Klep.

The Social Progress Index measures the extent to which countries provide for the social and environmental needs of their citizens.

The relative performance of nations is shown by 54 indicators in the areas of basic human needs, foundations of well-being and opportunity to progress.