The Lucky Country has been voted the world’s happiest. The Better Life Index compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranked Australia the happiest nation in the world (among developed economies) for the third consecutive year.
The report compared well-being across 34 countries (members of the OECD plus Brazil and Russia) based on 11 topics that the OECD has identified as essential in areas of material living conditions and quality of life – community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, housing, income (converted into US dollars), jobs, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance.
Sweden was in second place, with the same life expectancy, a slightly lower disposable income but very high civic engagement. According to the report, Swedes are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average. Eighty-five per cent of Swedes say they have more positive experiences in an average day than negative ones, which is five per cent above the OECD average.
Canada, no slouch when it comes to quality of life indexes, was in third place. Seventy-two per cent of Canadians aged between 15 and 64 are in employment and the average disposable income is $28,194 almost the same as Australia.
The United Kingdom rounded out the top 10. The average household disposable income ($26,904) is higher than the OECD average of $23,047 and more than 70 per cent of Britons aged between 15 and 64 are employed. Life expectancy is 81 years and there’s a strong sense of community with 95 per cent of people believing they have someone to call on in times of need.
Check out the top 10 in pictures:
Australia
Sweden
Canada
Norway
Switzerland
United States
Denmark
The Netherlands
Iceland
United Kingdom
(Featured image: tuppus)
