The World Fraternity Report 2025 marks an important milestone for the Economy of Francesco: it translates one of the movement’s core intuitions, that relationships are at the heart of human flourishing, into a rigorous analytical framework. At a time when societies face rising fragmentation, polarisation, and inequality, this report offers a new way of seeing: that fraternity is not a poetic ideal but a measurable form of social and economic value. The following briefing summarises the main insights of the report and highlights why this work has the potential to reshape how countries, institutions, and communities understand well-being and development.
The World Fraternity Report 2025 is the first global attempt to measure fraternity as a social and economic factor, moving it from a moral intuition to a quantifiable dimension of human development. The research asks whether fraternity, understood as the quality of relationships within societies, can be treated as relational capital that generates real economic and social value.
The report provides both a conceptual framework and a measurement tool, proposing a future Fraternity Index that goes beyond GDP and other traditional metrics.
Conceptual Framework
Fraternity is described through:
Subjective Features (experienced internally)
- Communion
- Recognition
- Mutual care
- Friendliness/affective tone
- Proximity (“neighbourliness”)
- Transitivity (extending care outward)
Objective Features (observable externally)
- Reciprocity
- Openness
- Horizontality (low hierarchy, equality in relationships)
- Inclusivity
- Production of relational goods
The report stresses that fraternity is both relational and multidimensional, involving individuals, communities, and institutions.
Measurement Approach
To create a first empirical model, the authors use international datasets such as:
- World Values Survey
- Global Preferences Survey
- Hofstede cultural dimensions
- ACLED conflict data
- Social Connectedness Index
- Google Trends (searches for fraternity, reciprocity, mutual care, relational goods)
The index was tested through three versions (equal-weight, geometric, and inverse-variance weighted). All showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.861), confirming the robustness of the overall construct. Limitations are openly acknowledged: existing datasets do not capture many qualitative aspects such as empathy, emotional tone, or lived experiences of community.
Key Findings
1. Global Patterns
Most countries cluster around the world mean (index ? 40/100).
Highest-scoring: small island states (e.g., Grenada, Micronesia, Antigua & Barbuda).
Lowest-scoring: conflict-affected regions (e.g., Palestine, Ukraine, Haiti).
(pp. 12–15; Figures 1–3)
2. No Direct Link to Wealth
Fraternity does not correlate strongly with GDP.
High-income countries do not automatically create stronger relational life.
3. Six Relational Profiles
The cluster analysis identifies six relational configurations, showing that countries express fraternity through different mixes of values, trust, openness, and social norms.
(pp. 16–17; Figure 4)
4. Conflict Dramatically Reduces Fraternity. Armed conflict and political instability emerge as some of the strongest negative drivers across indicators.
Significance and Implications
- A New Indicator for Human Development:
The Fraternity Index could complement or challenge existing measures such as GDP, HDI, and Social Capital. - Policy and Institutional Relevance:
Highlights the role of trust, mutual care, and social cohesion in shaping sustainable societies. - For Schools, Local Authorities, and Businesses:
The report proposes ways to apply the framework to education, organisational life, and civic planning. - For EoF:
Establishes the movement as a pioneer in quantifying values that are usually considered intangible.
The core message is clear: the quality of relationships is not a side issue – it is central to economic and social sustainability.
The Fraternity Report offers language and tools to make this visible, measurable, and actionable.
source: https://francescoeconomy.org/world-fraternity-report-2025/