A new study by an independent body has attempted to rate the countries of the world based on how prosperous they appear to be.

The Legatum Institute has recently released its 2011 Prosperity Index which attempts to measure factors such as economy, governance and personal freedom - with Australia being listed ahead of both the US and the UK in third place.

In an effort to determine the factors that go into making a country successful, the organisation recognising that neither wealth nor wellbeing on their own are able to account for ongoing national success - while they still play important roles in this area.

To this end, the institute analyses a number of weighted factors that go towards a country's final ranking.

For Australia, it gained placed third out of the 110 nations included in the study thanks in particular to high perceptions of educational opportunities and personal freedom - holding first and fourth place - as well as an estimated average distribution of $40,816 per capita for gross domestic product.