Yahoo Finance 10 countries with the best quality of life
1/7Travel Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia
1. Australia
BEST SCORES Safety, Civic Engagement, Health
WORST SCORES Income, Work-Life Balance
Australia scored the highest voter turnout of all 36 countries in the OECD and scored high on most health criteria. However, a large percentage of workers working long hours and a relatively large gap between the rich and the poor brought down the country's overall score.Getty Images![<b>3. <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/Canada/#/00000000000" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Canada;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Canada</a></b><br><br> <b>BEST SCORES</b> Safety, Health, Life Satisfaction<br> <b>WORST SCORES</b> Income, Civic Engagement<br><br> The Great White North had the lowest rate of assaults among all OECD countries, contributing to a high safety score, and Canadians reported being generally healthy and happy. We lost points for our growing income disparity and low voter turnout.]()
2/7Nations with highest number of airports
3. Canada
BEST SCORES Safety, Health, Life Satisfaction
WORST SCORES Income, Civic Engagement
The Great White North had the lowest rate of assaults among all OECD countries, contributing to a high safety score, and Canadians reported being generally healthy and happy. We lost points for our growing income disparity and low voter turnout.Getty Images/Hemera![<b>4. <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/norway/#/00000000000" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Norway;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Norway</a></b><br><br> <b>BEST SCORES</b> Life Satisfaction, Environment, Work-Life Balance<br> <b>WORST SCORES</b> Income, Civic Engagement<br><br> Norwegians gave their general satisfaction with life the second-highest grade among the 36 countries, which may have something to do with ranking fifth in total leisure time. Norway's income score was dragged down by a low average household financial wealth (though that was somewhat offset by the third-highest average disposable income.)]()
3/77. Norway 5-year price growth: 28.7 percent Switzerland and Norway are the only European countries to make the list of the world's hottest housing markets. Unlike most European nations that face a gloomy economic outlook, oil-rich Norway is set to expand 2.7 percent in 2012. Low interest rates have led citizens to take on debt to buy property contributing to a jump in prices that gained 6.8 percent year on year in March. Another incentive for Norwegians to buy property is a 28 percent tax deduction on interest payments. An unexpected cut in interest rates to 1.5 percent in March further raises the risk of an already developing housing bubble. In February, the IMF warned that Norwegian home prices were up to 20 percent overvalued. According to government figures, housing prices are seen to be growing almost twice as fast as wages this year. Housing prices in the west coast city of Stavanger , which is the capital of the country’s oil industry, rose 92 percent between 2005 and 2011. Pictured left: The waterfront of Bergen, Norway. Photo: Connie Coleman | Getty Images
4. Norway
BEST SCORES Life Satisfaction, Environment, Work-Life Balance
WORST SCORES Income, Civic Engagement
Norwegians gave their general satisfaction with life the second-highest grade among the 36 countries, which may have something to do with ranking fifth in total leisure time. Norway's income score was dragged down by a low average household financial wealth (though that was somewhat offset by the third-highest average disposable income.)Getty Images![<b>5. <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/switzerland/#/00000000000" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Switzerland;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Switzerland</a></b><br><br> <b>BEST SCORES</b> Life Satisfaction, Health, Jobs<br> <b>WORST SCORES</b> Civic Engagement, Housing<br><br> Switzerland scored a perfect 10 in Life Satisfaction, the highest among all 36 countries, and also led with the highest employment rate. On the other hand, the historically-neutral state bred little engagement amongst its citizens, with the second-worst voter turnout, particularly among lower-income people. The high cost of housing (23 per cent of disposable income goes to housing) also dragged down the Swiss.]()
4/7Travel Zermatt Switzerland
5. Switzerland
BEST SCORES Life Satisfaction, Health, Jobs
WORST SCORES Civic Engagement, Housing
Switzerland scored a perfect 10 in Life Satisfaction, the highest among all 36 countries, and also led with the highest employment rate. On the other hand, the historically-neutral state bred little engagement amongst its citizens, with the second-worst voter turnout, particularly among lower-income people. The high cost of housing (23 per cent of disposable income goes to housing) also dragged down the Swiss.Shayantani Sarkar![<b>7. <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/denmark/#/00000000000" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Denmark;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Denmark</a></b><br><br> <b>BEST SCORES</b> Work-Life Balance, Life Satisfaction, Environment<br> <b>WORST SCORES</b> Income, Housing<br><br> The Danes just wanna have fun, apparently. They ranked first in leisure and personal care time, dedicated an average of 16.06 hours per day in "me time." They were only middle-of-the-pack in wealth, and in the bottom 10 in housing expenditures.]()
5/7002-123085601
7. Denmark
BEST SCORES Work-Life Balance, Life Satisfaction, Environment
WORST SCORES Income, Housing
The Danes just wanna have fun, apparently. They ranked first in leisure and personal care time, dedicated an average of 16.06 hours per day in "me time." They were only middle-of-the-pack in wealth, and in the bottom 10 in housing expenditures.![<b>8. <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/netherlands/#/00000000000" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Netherlands;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Netherlands</a></b><br><br> <b>BEST SCORES</b> Work-Life Balance, Life Satisfaction, Community<br> <b>WORST SCORES</b> Income, Housing<br><br> The Netherlands had very similar results as Denmark, with high scores for personal time and happiness, and middle-of-the-pack results on income and housing. The Dutch also reported an above-average incidence of assault.]()
6/7Travel Amsterdam Canals
8. Netherlands
BEST SCORES Work-Life Balance, Life Satisfaction, Community
WORST SCORES Income, Housing
The Netherlands had very similar results as Denmark, with high scores for personal time and happiness, and middle-of-the-pack results on income and housing. The Dutch also reported an above-average incidence of assault.Lakshmi Sharath![<b>9. <a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/iceland/#/00000000000" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Iceland;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Iceland</a></b><br><br> <b>BEST SCORES</b> Community, Safety, Life Satisfaction<br> <b>WORST SCORES</b> Income, Housing<br><br> The small island nation reported the highest sense of community and had the lowest homicide rate of any country on the Index. However, the average income in Iceland was towards the bottom of the 36 countries.]()
7/7Reykjavik en Islande
9. Iceland
BEST SCORES Community, Safety, Life Satisfaction
WORST SCORES Income, Housing
The small island nation reported the highest sense of community and had the lowest homicide rate of any country on the Index. However, the average income in Iceland was towards the bottom of the 36 countries.
Updated
Canadians have the third-best overall well-being amongst developed countries, according to the OECD's Better Life Index. The Index measures 36 of the world's most-developed countries across a number of criteria. This ranking is based on an average score across those criteria.
