Protecting the environment makes nations more prosperous, a think tank said on Thursday, as a study showed Slovenia is the country best at using nature to improve the well-being of its citizens.

In its study, the London-based Legatum Institute for the first time included governments' efforts to reduce pollution, preserve biodiversity and limit the exploitation of natural resources in a formula to calculate its annual prosperity index.

"Protecting the environment, leaving citizens with a nicer, cleaner and even prettier environment, is strongly linked to well-being," Alexandra Mousavizadeh, director at the Legatum Institute, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.