Mumbai: Despite a 9 per cent plus economic growth rising affluence among the Indian middle class, India along with Pakistan and Egypt figures near the bottom of the table of nations in terms of prosperity according to a survey undertaken by Legatum, a privately owned Dubai-based international investment firm through its Legatum Prosperity Index. The three countries are better than only Zimbabwe.

According to the survey, there is a three-way tie between Norway, Sweden and the United States for the title of the most prosperous nation.

"India''s low position may seem puzzling, given the country''s achievement of democracy and Indians'' oft-noted spiritual strength," says Legatum, in a press release. But these strengths, it seems, cannot make up for an extreme deficiency in health.

"Health is the second-strongest determinant of life satisfaction, trailing only freedom of choice, and India has one of the three lowest values in our study," it explains.

The first annual edition of the Legatum Prosperity Index, covering 50 countries, is the result of an investigation into the various factors that drive prosperity in different countries. Legatum has defined national prosperity as a combination of material wealth and life satisfaction of people in countries worldwide.