alaungphaya
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I'll spoil the surprise: it's Myanmar.
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21684157-which-country-improved-most-2015-most-favoured-nation
Which country improved the most in 2015?
Dec 19th 2015 | From the print edition
IF OUR “country of the year” award went to the place that grabbed the most headlines, Russia would be hard to beat. But we do not wish to honour military adventurism, domestic repression and the burning of perfectly good foreign cheese, so Vladimir Putin will have to make do with the Chinese peace prize he won in 2011. Likewise, Islamic State, though it forced itself into the news more than most countries in 2015, is disqualified because it is not a nation but an abomination.
We prefer to recognise a country that has made the world a better place. And, amid the drumbeat of bad news, it is cheering how many contenders there are. America, among others, legalised gay marriage. It also restored diplomatic ties with Cuba and reached a nuclear agreement with Iran. China relaxed its cruel one-child policy somewhat. All couples will now be allowed two babies. And as a token of the Communist Party’s compassion, the millions of children born without permission will soon be allowed access to public services, from which they were previously excluded. Nigeria saw its first peaceful ejection of an incumbent president at the ballot box. Voters replaced the hapless Goodluck Jonathan with Muhammadu Buhari, who makes the right noises about corruption and appears to have beaten back the jihadists of Boko Haram.
In Latin America the “pink tide” of left-wing populism began to turn. Venezuela’s opposition won two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly, and may curb the excesses of President Nicolás Maduro and his rotten, inept and authoritarian regime. In Argentina voters rejected the chosen heir of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for Mauricio Macri, who must now clean up her legacy of wild inflation, ruinous economic controls, dodgy statistics and the subversion of democratic institutions. In Guatemala a who’s who of the political elite, including the former president, were arrested for alleged graft. Jimmy Morales, a comedian, won the presidency with the slogan “neither corrupt, nor a thief”. Colombia may soon sign a deal to end the longest-running guerrilla war in the Americas.
Europe saw an alarming surge of xenophobic populism, but French voters thwarted Marine Le Pen’s National Front in regional polls. Germany—along with Sweden—welcomed lots of Syrian refugees. Ireland, once written off as a Celtic calamity, posted tigerish growth of 7%.
Sympathy for Syrians
The Middle East had a wretched year, but there were outbreaks of generosity. Jordan and Lebanon hosted far more refugees from the bombs, bullets and beheadings of Syria and Iraq than any rich European nation. In Jordan they are nearly a tenth of the population; in Lebanon, a quarter. But in neither country are they formally allowed to work. Moreover, Jordan could be quite a bit kinder to its long-standing population of Palestinian refugees, and Lebanon is so badly governed that the rubbish is piling up in the streets.
Our winner, therefore, is Myanmar. Five years ago it was a larcenous dictatorship where even pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, were banned from newspapers. In November Miss Suu Kyi’s party won 77% of the vote. The army, which retains huge privileges, appears ready to share power. It could still go wrong. (Myanmar still treats the Rohingya and other minorities disgracefully.) But the country’s transition to something resembling democracy has come faster than anyone dared expect. For that, Myanmar wins the prize.
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21684157-which-country-improved-most-2015-most-favoured-nation
Which country improved the most in 2015?
Dec 19th 2015 | From the print edition
IF OUR “country of the year” award went to the place that grabbed the most headlines, Russia would be hard to beat. But we do not wish to honour military adventurism, domestic repression and the burning of perfectly good foreign cheese, so Vladimir Putin will have to make do with the Chinese peace prize he won in 2011. Likewise, Islamic State, though it forced itself into the news more than most countries in 2015, is disqualified because it is not a nation but an abomination.
We prefer to recognise a country that has made the world a better place. And, amid the drumbeat of bad news, it is cheering how many contenders there are. America, among others, legalised gay marriage. It also restored diplomatic ties with Cuba and reached a nuclear agreement with Iran. China relaxed its cruel one-child policy somewhat. All couples will now be allowed two babies. And as a token of the Communist Party’s compassion, the millions of children born without permission will soon be allowed access to public services, from which they were previously excluded. Nigeria saw its first peaceful ejection of an incumbent president at the ballot box. Voters replaced the hapless Goodluck Jonathan with Muhammadu Buhari, who makes the right noises about corruption and appears to have beaten back the jihadists of Boko Haram.
In Latin America the “pink tide” of left-wing populism began to turn. Venezuela’s opposition won two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly, and may curb the excesses of President Nicolás Maduro and his rotten, inept and authoritarian regime. In Argentina voters rejected the chosen heir of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for Mauricio Macri, who must now clean up her legacy of wild inflation, ruinous economic controls, dodgy statistics and the subversion of democratic institutions. In Guatemala a who’s who of the political elite, including the former president, were arrested for alleged graft. Jimmy Morales, a comedian, won the presidency with the slogan “neither corrupt, nor a thief”. Colombia may soon sign a deal to end the longest-running guerrilla war in the Americas.
Europe saw an alarming surge of xenophobic populism, but French voters thwarted Marine Le Pen’s National Front in regional polls. Germany—along with Sweden—welcomed lots of Syrian refugees. Ireland, once written off as a Celtic calamity, posted tigerish growth of 7%.
Sympathy for Syrians
The Middle East had a wretched year, but there were outbreaks of generosity. Jordan and Lebanon hosted far more refugees from the bombs, bullets and beheadings of Syria and Iraq than any rich European nation. In Jordan they are nearly a tenth of the population; in Lebanon, a quarter. But in neither country are they formally allowed to work. Moreover, Jordan could be quite a bit kinder to its long-standing population of Palestinian refugees, and Lebanon is so badly governed that the rubbish is piling up in the streets.
Our winner, therefore, is Myanmar. Five years ago it was a larcenous dictatorship where even pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, were banned from newspapers. In November Miss Suu Kyi’s party won 77% of the vote. The army, which retains huge privileges, appears ready to share power. It could still go wrong. (Myanmar still treats the Rohingya and other minorities disgracefully.) But the country’s transition to something resembling democracy has come faster than anyone dared expect. For that, Myanmar wins the prize.
Are majority burmese people buddhist in faith??
