Interesting facts
For the fourth year in a row, a United Nations study has ranked Norway as the best place to live in the world. The index ranks nations according to income, life expectancy and education levels.
Every summer, the United Nations Development Program issues a thorough, state-of-the-world-like report in which the world's countries are ranked according to the Human Development Index, a system for determining standard of living. This year, as in the previous three, Norway tops the list, while neighboring Sweden has climbed one spot to number two.
The report states that Norway has a life expectancy of 79 years and a school enrollment ratio of 98 percent. As usual, industrialized nations figure heavily in the top 20, with the United States coming in at eighth place, and the United Kingdom at 12th. At the bottom of the list, for the seventh year in a row, lies Sierra Leone, still suffering from the consequences of civil war.
Norway tops the list, the report argues, because of its high wealth combined with a small population. The average income in Norway is, according to the report, a staggering USD 36,600. Only Luxembourg, with an average income of USD 61,190 can top that. In comparison, Sweden's average income is USD 26,050, while that of Ethiopia is USD 780.
The 2004 report shows disturbing signs that development is actually in reversal in 20 of the world's nations. 13 of these lie in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the report, the main reason for this reversal is the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis. Life expectancy in eight of the sub-Saharan nations has now fallen below 40 years because of the disease. "The Aids crisis cripples states at all levels because the disease attacks people in their most productive years," Mark Malloch Brown, head of the UNDP, told the BBC.
The top 20:
1. Norway (visited in June)
2. Sweden (visited in June)
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. Netherlands
6. Belgium
7. Iceland (visited in June)
8. United States (currently living)
9. Japan
10. Ireland
11. Switzerland
12. Britain
13. Finland
14. Austria
15. Luxembourg
16. France
17. Denmark
18. New Zealand
19. Germany
20. Spain
***
Every summer, the United Nations Development Program issues a thorough, state-of-the-world-like report in which the world's countries are ranked according to the Human Development Index, a system for determining standard of living. This year, as in the previous three, Norway tops the list, while neighboring Sweden has climbed one spot to number two.
The report states that Norway has a life expectancy of 79 years and a school enrollment ratio of 98 percent. As usual, industrialized nations figure heavily in the top 20, with the United States coming in at eighth place, and the United Kingdom at 12th. At the bottom of the list, for the seventh year in a row, lies Sierra Leone, still suffering from the consequences of civil war.
Norway tops the list, the report argues, because of its high wealth combined with a small population. The average income in Norway is, according to the report, a staggering USD 36,600. Only Luxembourg, with an average income of USD 61,190 can top that. In comparison, Sweden's average income is USD 26,050, while that of Ethiopia is USD 780.
The 2004 report shows disturbing signs that development is actually in reversal in 20 of the world's nations. 13 of these lie in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the report, the main reason for this reversal is the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis. Life expectancy in eight of the sub-Saharan nations has now fallen below 40 years because of the disease. "The Aids crisis cripples states at all levels because the disease attacks people in their most productive years," Mark Malloch Brown, head of the UNDP, told the BBC.
The top 20:
1. Norway (visited in June)
2. Sweden (visited in June)
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. Netherlands
6. Belgium
7. Iceland (visited in June)
8. United States (currently living)
9. Japan
10. Ireland
11. Switzerland
12. Britain
13. Finland
14. Austria
15. Luxembourg
16. France
17. Denmark
18. New Zealand
19. Germany
20. Spain
***
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