Italy is the country that has improved the most in 2021 in the view of The Economist and as such, was crowned ‘Country of the Year’, an annual honor awarded by the international newspaper.

The prize was given “not to the biggest, the richest or the happiest, but to the one that in our view improved the most in 2021”, The Economist said.

This global recognition was awarded to Italy “not for the prowess of its footballers, who won Europe’s big trophy, nor its pop stars, who won the Eurovision Song Contest, but for its politics”.

Central to this honor is prime minister, Mario Draghi, who is described by The Economist as “a competent, internationally respected prime minister” whose work at the helm of a national-unity government has made Italy “better than a year ago”.

Strong vaccination efforts

The Economist underlined the excellent results of Italy’s vaccination campaign which it said, is “among the highest in Europe”.

According to government data published on Thursday, December 16, 2021, some 47.7 million people or 88.37% of the population aged 12 and above have already received at least one dose, with about 46 million or 85.17% having completed the full vaccination cycle. So far, about 13 million people or 63.98% of those eligible for the booster shot have received it.

The number of people vaccinated is also expected to improve in the coming days as Italy makes the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine available for children in the 6-11 age group.

The Economist said there is a “majority that has buried its differences in support of a programme of sweeping reforms” in the light of the EU-funded post-COVID National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

Italy economy recovering faster and better

The Italian economy, The Economist said, is recovering better and faster than those of France and Germany. The publication’s accolade stated that “it is hard to deny that the Italy of today is a better place than it was in December 2020”.

But it warned of the “danger that this unusual explosion of governance may suffer a U-turn” if Draghi were to be elected Italian president, “a more ceremonial role”, making way for a “a less competent prime minister”.

Recent opinion polls revealed that about three-quarters of Italians want Draghi to stay on as premier until the natural end of the parliamentary term in 2023, rather than being elected president early next year, a job he has not said he wants.

In early 2022, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate will elect the next president, and Draghi remains a potential option.

A difficult year

The Economist highlighted that “this year was a difficult one”. COVID-19 continued to spread miserly, as brilliantly designed vaccines were unevenly distributed and new variants such as Omicron emerged. In many countries, civil liberties and democratic norms were eroded.

Russia’s main opposition leader was jailed. Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol. Civil wars gripped Ethiopia and Myanmar. “Yet amid the gloom, a few countries shone”, one of which is Italy, which the newspaper believes, deserves global recognition for its improvements.

Each year, The Economist picks a ‘country of the year’. According to The Economist, the award goes not to the biggest, the richest nor the happiest, “but to the one that in our view improved the most” in a particular year. This year’s winner, Italy, is not the first to be recognized by the international newspaper for its sterling performance in a particular year.

Past winners of the ‘country of the year’ award included Uzbekistan (for abolishing slavery), Colombia (for making peace) and Tunisia (for embracing democracy).