10 Best Countries to Live 2013

As a Canadian I am always interested in seeing how Canada ranks in comparison to other countries. I regularly feature this topic in posts such as the smartest countries, the happiest countries, the  most peaceful countries, the most sustainable countries, the friendliest countries, the most charitable countries, the most prosperous countries, the best countries for quality of life, the best countries for business, the top countries for life expectancy, the best countries for working women, the best country for world travel & tourism, the best countries for human development, the top countries for Clean Capitalism, the best country for child well-being, the best countries from social progress, the best countries for higher education, the most popular countries and most recently the 10 least corrupt countries. Today, I’ll be exploring the list of the top ten best countries to live based on the results of the 2013 Better Life Index released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). I covered this Index last year in my 10 Best Countries to Live 2012 post.

The OECD is “an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices and co-ordinate domestic and international policies of its members.” (Wikipedia)

The OECD evaluated 34 advanced countries in this index based on 11 topics that “reflect what the OECD has identified as essential to well-being in terms of material living conditions (housing, income, jobs) and quality of life (community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance).” Based on this research, the 10 best countries to live in the world are:

1. Australia – Highest score: 9.5 in safety and its lowest score: 4.5 in income. 2012 ranking: 1
2. Sweden – Highest score: 9.7 in environment and its lowest score: 4.6 in income. 2012 ranking: 4
3. Canada – Highest score: 9.7 in safety and its lowest score: 5.8 in income. 2012 ranking: 6
4. Norway – Highest score: 9.6 in life satisfaction and its lowest score: 3.8 in income. 2012 ranking: 2
5. Switzerland – Highest score: 10 in life satisfaction and its lowest score: 3.6 in civic engagement. 2012 ranking: 7
6. United States – Highest score: 10 in income and its lowest score: 5.8 in civic engagement. 2012 ranking: 3
7. Denmark – Highest score: 9.8 in work-life balance and its lowest score: 3.9 in income. 2012 ranking: 5
8. Netherlands – Highest score: 9.4 in work-life balance and its lowest score: 5.2 in civic engagement. 2012 ranking: 8
9. Iceland – Highest score: 9.4 in life satisfaction and safety and its lowest score: 3.1 in income. 2012 ranking: Wasn’t in the top 10.
10. United Kingdom – Highest score: 9.5 in environment and safety and its lowest score: 5.5 in income. 2012 ranking: Wasn’t in the top 10.

In the debate on what truly measures the well-being of societies, wealth can be viewed as a determining factor but as the Index demonstrates “there is more to life than the cold numbers of GDP and economic statistics”. The aim of the Index is “to involve citizens in this debate, and to empower them to become more informed and engaged in the policy-making process that shapes all our lives.”

Overall, 82% of Canadian said they “have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc). This figure is higher than the OECD average of 80%.” Granted it’s not much higher than the average but we’ll take it. 3rd place is a big jump back up from the 6th place we occupied last year and here’s hoping we’ll continue that climb back up to the 2nd (or even 1st place) next year.

Better Life Index Tutorial

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=655JXEsYL_E[/youtube]

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