Norway has been crowned the most sustainable country in the world.

The nation came first in a new survey by green investor Robecosam, which judged 62 countries on aspects of their governance, society and environmental behaviour.

Norway’s top place on the podium was narrowly followed by fellow Scandinavians Sweden and Finland, which scored higher on a purely environmental basis.

However, Norway’s “robust governance, sound policy making and distinct societal values” meant it was seen to have a solid and unwavering trajectory towards a sustainable future and so came out the winner.

The UK came in 12th place overall. Its social and environmental scores were similar to those of the winning trio but it was let down by a perceived weakness in governance.

The environmental areas the survey looked into were air quality, water sanitation, biodiversity levels, climate change and energy. India was notable for scoring particularly badly across these areas.

Singapore dominated the rest of the emerging economies on the leader board and put a number of countries categorised as “advanced economies” to shame, the report adds.