Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Index: Country Scores and Rankings

Building on a previously proposed methodology for an index of economic and social rights fulfillment, this article presents country scores and rankings based on the Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Index (ESRF Index). Unlike socioeconomic indicators, which are often used as proxies for the extent to which rights-holders enjoy economic and social rights, the ESRF Index incorporates the perspective of the duty-bearer as well as the rights-holder and takes into account the principle of progressive realization. The resulting scores and rankings provide important new information that complements other measures of economic and social rights fulfillment. The ESRF Index is an important conceptual and methodological breakthrough; although it still does not capture all key human rights principles, such as the rights to participation, nondiscrimination, and equality. The article also analyzes the results of the global ranking and outlines some priorities for further research.