Investor Updates
Economist survey ranks Australia as second in world for quality of life
3 December 2012
The Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Australia second in the world for quality of life in a survey just published.
The Economist’s Where-to-be-born 2013 index looks at which countries will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead and asks the question: ‘which country will be best for a baby born in 2013?’
Some 80 countries were surveyed. Australia scored 8.12 out of 10 points, only 0.1 behind the leader, Switzerland. The Scandinavian countries – Norway, Sweden and Denmark – followed closely behind, with New Zealand in seventh place.
The United States, which topped the last index in 1988, was ranked 16th. (Conversely, Australia was ranked 18th in the 1988 index.)
The Economist’s quality-of-life index links the results of life satisfaction surveys with objective determinants of quality of life across countries, looking at a number of statistically significant indicators including geography, demography, crime, trust in public institutions, and the health of family life.
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