Standard of Living by Country | Quality of Life by Country 2022

A region’s standard of living may be defined as how its residents enjoy a comfortable standard of living and have access to basic requirements and material items.

As with the standard of living, quality of life also includes a person’s physical and mental health and well-being, so the two terms are frequently used interchangeably.

There is no commonly agreed-upon method for gauging the standard of living and quality of life since these concepts are broad and vague.

Statisticians have devised many intriguing mathematical equations, methods, and surveys to compress the quality of life (or, on rarer occasions, the standard of living) into a single number.

Index of Quality of Life

Numbeo’s Quality of Life Index evaluates eight indices: buying power (including rent), safety, health care, cost of living, property price to income ratio, traffic commute time, pollution, and climate. This is one of the most thorough formulae available.

Each of these indicators relates directly to a country’s typical citizen’s financial well-being, which is reflected in the quality of life. Although self-explanatory, traffic commuting time is quite important (as any commuter will testify).

Other crimes, such as robberies and vehicle thefts, are covered by the safety index, including worries about the incidence of drug use, property crime, violence, and bribery.

It begins with patient expenses and works its way up to factors like care quality, medical equipment, physicians’ salaries, and other aspects of the healthcare system.

The pollution index is a measure of the country’s total pollution. In order of importance, air pollution is the most important, followed by water contamination and access to clean water.

A nation’s climate index measures how climate-friendly the country is. Mild temperatures, low humidity, and no noteworthy weather conditions characterize countries with a climate index of 100. According to these indexes, the top of the list looks like this:

According to Numbeo, the top 10 countries with the best quality of life in the middle of 2021.

1. Switzerland – 188.36
2. Denmark – 186.25
3. Netherlands – 180.27
4. Finland – 178.95
5. Australia – 178.41
6. Iceland – 177.64
7. Austria – 176.36
8. Germany – 175.24
9. New Zealand – 173.60
10. Luxembourg – 171.81

Further down this page is a table with the whole data for each list. Northern Europe has a lot of happy residents. The Numbeo equation, on the other hand, is by no means the sole option.

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Countries Report 2021 ranks the top 10 countries with the best quality of life.

1. Canada
2. Denmark
3. Sweden
4. Norway
5. Switzerland
6. Australia
7. Netherlands
8. Finland
9. Germany
10. New Zealand

With the help of BAV Group and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Best Countries Report” tracks a comparable but distinct set of factors.

Economic and political stability, quality of public education and health systems, and affordability are among the factors that affect a country’s quality of life.

In addition to Sweden and Canada, which hold two of the top three spots (numbeo ranked them 22nd and 13th, respectively), both lists contain many of the same nations.

However, the order varies due to discrepancies in the poll questions or the methodology used.

Top 10 Quality of Life Destinations in the World in 2021 – CEO World

1. Finland – 99.06
2. Denmark – 98.13
3. Norway – 96.75
4. Belgium – 96.53
5. Sweden – 96.15
6. Switzerland – 94.40
7. Netherlands – 93.69
8. France – 92.08
9. Germany – 91.26
10. Japan – 91.23

Over 258,000 individuals were surveyed on various variables, including the importance of equal opportunity and government openness. While the regular suspects are back, the prior posts have jumbled up their sequence.

Furthermore, Canada slides to 12th place on this ranking, placing Australia at 17th and welcoming Japan into the top ten positions. Denmark has ranked second in each of the three rankings so far is maybe a little amusing.

Human Development Index 2020: Top 10 Countries – United Nations:

1. Norway – .957
2. Ireland – .955 (tie)
3. Switzerland – .955 (tie)
4. Hong Kong (China) – .949 (tie)
5. Iceland – .949 (tie)
6. Germany – .947
7. Sweden – .945
8. Australia – .944
9. Netherlands – .944
10. Denmark – .940

Despite its more academic vocabulary, Human Development Index monitors many of the same characteristics as most measures of quality of life or living standard.

Also See: Social Mobility by Country 2022

The HDI, on the other hand, is based more on actual data, such as life expectancy, years of education, and GNI per capita, rather than surveys. The top 10 list contains several of the same nations.