Cross-Country Analysis of the Sustainable Human Development Based on Slack-Based DEA

The sustainability of 151 countries is assessed by applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Cluster Analysis. To measure the level of sustainability, three aspects (social, environmental and economic) are taken into consideration in which 10 indicators are involved. To achieve the premise of the DEA process, Cluster Analysis is utilized to classify all the countries and regions into three clusters. For each cluster, DEA is applied to assess the sustainability of the countries, marking the sustainable ones at 100% efficiency or lower efficiency (relatively). Noticeably, in one particular cluster, countries are underdeveloped and mostly located in Africa and South America. This study contributes to the decision making of governments by providing evidence to sustainable development. It can also serve to inform the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on those countries that need the most support and intervention. This study can be extended to any interested countries and regions.