Japan leads the world in health and wellness but was pulled down by other indicators in a global index that ranks countries by social and environmental performance in a drive to make social progress a priority for politicians and businesses. The top country overall is New Zealand.

The Social Progress Index, published Thursday, rates 132 countries on more than 50 indicators, including health, sanitation, shelter, personal safety, access to information, sustainability, tolerance and inclusion, and access to education.

The SPI asks questions such as whether a country can satisfy its people's basic needs and whether it has the infrastructure and capacity to allow its citizens to improve the quality of their lives.