We probably won’t be looking back on 2024 as one of history’s better years. Beneath all the gloom and backsliding, though, life got better for a lot of people around the world – and for a number of countries.
In a surprising variety of places, citizens are ending 2024 with celebrations of improvements in their quality of life, in their freedom and happiness, in national accomplishments and in the triumph of empowered majorities over adversity and subjugation. Here are eight countries where good things happened this year.
Indonesia
It is rare for both poverty and inequality to decline. The factors that cause people to rise out of poverty, such as economic growth, usually raise inequality. This year, Indonesia became one of few exceptions.
The southeast Asian country’s poverty rate fell to a historic record low of 9 per cent (albeit with a poverty threshold of only about $50 a month), and also a record-low inequality score, suggesting that incomes of the poor rose further than those of the wealthy. Although Indonesia remains a very unequal country whose democratic stability eroded this year, strong economic growth and resource exports, combined with a fairly robust suite of social-assistance programs, led a majority of Indonesians to a measurably better place.
Poland
It was a year of rebuilding for Poland, after a dramatic late-2023 election. For the eight years prior, the country had been ruled by the far-right Law and Justice party, which manipulated courts, threatened European institutions and eliminated fundamental rights. The election united many parties and sectors of society to remove this entrenched authoritarianism.
A year after Prime Minister Donald Tusk promised to restore Poland, it was named 2024’s most-improved country on the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index. Its score for checks and balances on government powers improved 14 per cent, and for open government by 11 per cent – and it was one of the few countries this year to see improvements in fundamental rights of citizens.
“Progress is often slow” against authoritarianism, said Elizabeth Andersen, the project’s executive director, “but Poland now offers the world’s top example that positive change is possible.”
Thailand
In a move that surprised outsiders, Thailand’s King signed a newly-passed bill legalizing same sex marriage in September, a move that many hoped would improve the country’s important tourism industry – but also reflected new hope for basic freedoms there.
After returning to democracy in 2019, Thailand has struggled with a military that banned the leading opposition party, but this year saw promising election results that caused it to move from “Not Free” to “Partly Free” in the Freedom House ranking of democracies.
Brazil
One of the world’s most successful comeback stories is Brazil, whose strong economic growth was shared impressively well by its people.
Two years after Brazilians threw out the authoritarian-right regime of Jair Bolsonaro, the combination of economic liberalism and redistribution under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva produced dramatic results on both social and economic measures. Brazil reported a 40-per-cent drop in extreme poverty (a difference of 3.1 million people) as well as a 20-per-cent drop in unemployment and an 8.3-per-cent increase in average after-inflation income. Though inflation and debt remain risks, Brazil showed that a return to “normal” politics is a fast way to improve quality of life.
Bangladesh
This summer, the people of Bangladesh took to the streets and ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a matriarch who had ruled for 15 years (as well as five years in the late 1990s), starting out as an elected reformer from a dynasty of Bangladeshi rulers but becoming increasingly authoritarian. This culminated in January’s election, in which Ms. Hasina effectively banned all opposition parties, giving her a largely uncontested re-election with a 10-per-cent voter turnout.
After weeks of mainly peaceful protests, Ms. Hasina stepped down and fled. Bureaucrats chose the widely respected Muhammad Yunus, the country’s most famous economist, as an interim administrator, with an election likely scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026.
Moldova
This Eastern European country has fallen into the sights of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who lists it along with Ukraine and Georgia as a target for takeover or influence. But its people, like Ukrainians, generally hold pro-European and democratic sentiments. So its national election in October was a showdown between Moscow and Western democratic values, pitting pro-European Prime Minister Maia Sandu against a slate of Kremlin-backed challengers. It also included a referendum on European Union membership.
After a dirty campaign dominated by Russian money and influence, both Ms. Sandu and the referendum were triumphs, securing the country’s future in Europe.
Botswana
The Botswana Democratic Party had continuously led this resource-rich southern African country for 58 years, since independence in 1966. It became increasingly corrupt and vicious during this century, paralyzing living standards and driving up unemployment.
On Oct. 30, the people of Botswana threw out the BDP for the youthful Umbrella for Democratic Change party and its leader Duma Boko. Equally important was the phone call made to Mr. Boko by outgoing prime minister Mokgweetsi Masisi, who conceded that his party “had it wrong big time” and pledged to “participate in a smooth transition process” – a rare occurrence in sub-Saharan Africa.
France
In a year when everything seemed to be going up in flames, France managed a couple of dramatic recoveries that made everything look cool. The reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral, an epic task that left the world riveted, reached a triumphant conclusion at year’s end. It was preceded by a feel-good Olympics with a fantastic opening ceremony showcasing a Paris that has been transformed into a green exemplar.
This set of uniting accomplishments helped counteract the political instability that rocked France’s government through 2024. On the level of national symbols and quality of life, at least, the country had a successful and celebratory year.
