The definition of "worst-performing" that they're using is relative to the prior year in the same country, i.e. Germany had the worst annual growth rate for the

The definition of "worst-performing" that they're using is relative to the prior year in the same country, i.e. Germany had the worst annual growth rate for their economy. That says nothing about standards of living between countries. Even if Norway had -10% growth rate and Afghanistan had a +10% growth rate, I would still much rather be living in Norway.