10 Best Countries to be Born in 2013

Previously I’ve written posts about how Canada has ranked on numerous global rankings like the smartest countries, the happiest countries, the best countries for entrepreneurs, the best countries to live, the most competitive countries to do business, the countries with the best reputation, the  most peaceful countries, most sustainable countries, friendliest countries and the best country for business. Given my obvious penchant for these types of lists and the time of year, today’s list of the 10 best countries to be born in 2013 was like a dream come true.

The report was put together by The Economist’s research arm known as the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The EIU has been ranking the best city to live and the most livable cities in the world for years, and now adds this lottery of life report to their list.

This report was first published in 1988 under the name The World in 1988 and it “light-heartedly ranked 50 countries according to where would be the best place to be born in 1988”. The EIU took a more serious approach to the report this year as it looked to compile a reliable list of countries that represented the “best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead”.

EIU used a complex methodology that included looking at eleven criteria from previous reports including: “material wellbeing as measured by GDP per head (in $, at 2006 constant PPPS); life expect-ancy at birth; the quality of family life, based primarily on divorce rates; the state of political freedoms; job se­curity (measured by the unemployment rate); climate (measured by two variables: the average deviation of minimum and maximum monthly temperatures from 14 degrees Celsius; and the number of months in the year with less than 30mm rainfall); personal physical security ratings (based primarily on recorded homicide rates and ratings for risk from crime and terrorism); quality of community life (based on membership in so­cial organisations); governance (measured by ratings for corruption); gender equality (measured by the share of seats in parliament held by women).”

According to the EIU data the ten best countries to be born into in 2013 are:

1. Switzerland score 8.22/10 – Ranking in 1988: 13th
2. Australia score: 8.12/10 – Ranking in 1988: 18th
3. Norway score: 8.09/10 – Ranking in 1988: 13th
4. Sweden score: 8.02/10 – Ranking in 1988: 9th
5. Denmark score: 8.01/10 – Ranking in 1988: 24th
6. Singapore score: 8.00/10 – Ranking in 1988: 36th
7. New Zealand score: 7.95/10 – Ranking in 1988: 18th
8. Netherlands score: 7.94/10 – Ranking in 1988: 10th
9. Canada score: 7.81/10 – Ranking in 1988: 5th
10. Hong Kong score: 7.80/10 – Ranking in 1988: 7th

Surprisingly, the United States, which ranked first in 1988, tied Germany for sixteenth place this year with a shared score of 7.38.

One of the greatest investors of the 20th century, Warren Buffett, has said “I was extremely lucky in life. I won the ovarian lottery” meaning that he could attribute his life’s fortunes to the fact that he was born in the right country (USA) at the right time (1930) and into the right situation. Something for those (thinking of) procreating in 2013 to think about. Of course, if you’re in Canada you can stay put 🙂

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