We’ll get to us in a second, but first: Norway is building quite the dynasty up there in Scandinavia.
For the 12th year in a row, the United Nations has named the Nordic nation the best in the world to live, which can largely be attributed to its abundance of fjords, mountains, and northern lights.
The UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) measures basic human developments within 188 countries based on three categories: long and healthy lifestyle, access to knowledge and decent standard of living. These were broken down further to include metrics like gender equality, environmental sustainability, human security and international integration.
Australia and Switzerland rounded out the top three, respectively.
Canada, meanwhile, is tied for 9th with New Zealand, one spot below our neighbours to the South. We scored especially high in mean years of schooling (13), trailing only Germany and the United Kingdom. Our environmental performance, however, could use some work.
On the other end of the spectrum, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Eritrea, Central African Republic and Niger hover near the bottom of human development. Five expected years of schooling and a life expectancy of 50 are the kinds of numbers that define this category.
The top 10 below:
1. Norway
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
4. Denmark
5. Netherlands
6. Germany
6. Ireland
8. United States
9. Canada
9. New Zealand
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