A nation is essentially made up of its people, and the government of any country is in existence for the sole purpose of serving these people.

Hence the success of a nation should be measured by gauging the happiness and well-being of the people. However there is no concrete or definite means by which we may quantify happiness or measure the well-being of people. It would be ridiculous to go around taking polls asking people "Are you feeling well today?" And there are no scientific instruments to measure these intangible characteristics. So we look to a set of criteria to give a fairly accurate idea of how successful a country is. One such criterion is economic prosperity.

Though widely accepted as being an important factor, there are others such as standard of living, health and education, which should be considered as well in as equal significance, in the overall assessment of a nation's success.

Economic prosperity is undoubtedly a prerequisite for a country to be considered successful. It may be measured using a variety of statistical data such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the per capita income, the rate of economic growth and the available reserves.

It is important because it is a measure of the material wealth of a country, a necessity in today's world to sustain and enjoy life. Money is needed to have shelter and food - the basic necessities of life.

People need money to buy convenience goods, to enjoy a fairly good life and to purchase luxuries to indulge in the modern pleasures of life.

But economic prosperity must be measured hand in hand with the standard of living and the infrastructure of the country being assessed.

In a country where the cost of living is high, the standard of living may not be as high as the economic prosperity might suggest, meaning that fewer people will be happy. Transport and communication infrastructure is also necessary. Singapore possesses both, and hence has an upperhand over other countries such as Hong Kong - where the people, despite enjoying great economic success, suffer from terrible traffic jams - a phenomenon which has been medically studied and proven to add to the psychological stress that one experiences.

Education is an extremely important criterion in measuring a people's success. Education makes one more enlightened and opens one's eyes to the world. It enables people to develop mental faculties and enjoy life better, while at the same time equipping them with the skills and tools necessary to make progress in life. It is universally accepted that a nation's greatest resource is its collective intelligence.

Education is of utmost importance in tapping this resource.

Singapore places a lot of emphasis on education. It has developed a strong foundation and it is for this reason that Singapore is generally considered to be more successful than some of the other East Asian tiger economies. Thailand is an example of a country which has been doing well economically, but whose recent spate of problems, which includes the devaluation of its currency, has been partly attributed, by reputed magazines like The Economist, to a lack of emphasis on education.

The importance of education is seen in how the leaders of several countries have reacted to the results of the recent Third International Maths and Science Study. Singapore takes great pride in having come out tops in both maths and science, whilst President Bill Clinton expressed concern that the United States of America was not in the top ten of either, and has ordered an investigation to see how to improve America's education system. Several organizations, including the United Nations, take education into consideration when determining whether a country is developed or not. It is one of the reason why Singapore is still not classified as developed despite a very high GDP - the proportion of students entering tertiary institutes of learning is significantly lower than in most of the developed nations.

Health is important in gauging the well-being of a nation's people.

Firstly, the medical system and health policies need to be assessed.

The availability of hospitals and clinics in sufficient numbers, and the provision of good and proper treatment to the patients must be assessed.

Also, it must be checked whether every sick man, irrespective of age, sex, or economic status is always given the prompt medical treatment that he requires. Fitness and life expectancy must be determined to gauge the general health of the population. Many countries envy Japan today for its general level of fitness and high life expectancy.

Crime rates should also be taken into consideration. The lower the crime rate, the more secure the people feel. Crime rates also demonstrate the effectiveness of the legal system and the police force of a country. Crime rates offer an additional insight into the psyche of the people - high crime rates are an indicator of unrest, discord, and unhappiness amongst the people whilst low crime rates point toward general contentment.

The ability of a country to defend itself against potential aggressors is also an important consideration. Kuwait is an example of a country that was enjoying a booming economy but whose neglection of self-defence led to the temporary take-over by its neighbour Iraq, which left it with permanent scars. A good armed forces gives people a sense of security and is a source of national pride, as is the case in Singapore when its military might is put on show during the annual National Day Parade.

The economic prosperity of a nation is undoubtedly important in gauging its success. But it should not be the main criterion.

Other factors such as the standard of living, the education system, the general health, the crime rates and the defence of a nation should also be considered very significant in determining its success.

Content: 23/30, Language = 15/20, Total = 38/50 (A1).
Well-argued. Lots of good example. Excellent effort.