The Best Countries to Live In

Well, there goes my plans to study in Afghanistan while I practice in Niger. And yes, Iceland rocks steady with its beautiful terrain, and total Bjork-ness.

It`s not a good comparison anymore. I don`t live my life in one country like many others. We can enjoy the low cost of living and lifestyle in one country and have the higher GDP wage of another.

oh geee I'm movin to Canada

Why yes, it IS awesome in Canada.

The only problem with most of the top countries is that booze is so expensive (especially Sweden!)

This is blasphemy... Everybody who counts, (only people in the USA) know we are the only country that God loves best. If you don't agree, I hope to God you get some of our Christlike bombs dropped on your pagan, non English speaking heads. Everybody knows God hates poor people the most; why else would we be dropping so many bombs on them.

I just love that, now broke-ass, Iceland manages a respectable third. I guess being broke as a nation is relative.

USA would be higher if we were as self centered as most of these other countries. Besides Australia, and Canada to a lesser degree, what have any of these other countries done for the world as a whole? They all take care of themselves knowing that the US will be there to bail them out if the need arises.

Well perhaps D Bozko has a partly point....? Perhaps the US shóúld actually be more self-centered and clean up it's home-affair-acts before it comes to the "aid" of the rest of the world...?

Because in God's Own Country that is so rich and so helpful and so policing towards other coountries, there's an astonishing whole lot of regular Hell to live for lots of it's own residents...............

B.M.
I really hope your sarcasm switch was on.

heheh, I hope D Bozko had his on as well as many countries outside the US of A don't take meddling, interfering, bullying and harrassing on so many levels, as helping:) So bailout? never seen one that wasn't more about USA's interests more then the one it was "helping". Dont' get me wron, they do alot af things right, but alot is wrong there as well. These results are derived from the quality of education, probabilities of old age, GDP and a couple of other things so I don't see how the US being all helpful to others, would show them in bad light in such a poll.

Orn, the data they used for this is from 2007, before the global financial crisis. Iceland will probably see the effect of their economic straits in the next UN list.

D Bozoko is mistaken about the relative generosity of the USA in relation to other countries. USA gives a large amount of money in foreign aid, but that's simply because there is a large population in the USA.

The USA gives away 0.1% of GDP in foreign aid
Norway gives away 0.91% of GDP in foreign aid.

In actual fact, USA is the least generous of all developed countries.

As former President Jimmy Carter commented: 'We are the stingiest nation of all'. Denmark is top of the table, giving 1.01% of GDP, while the US manages just 0.1%. The United Nations has long established the target of 0.7% GDP for development assistance, although only four countries actually achieve this: Denmark, 1.01%; Norway, 0.91%; the Netherlands, 0.79%; Sweden, 0.7%. Apart from being the least generous nation, the US is highly selective in who receives its aid. Over 50% of its aid budget is spent on middle-income countries in the Middle East, with Israel being the recipient of the largest single share.”

What kind of a crappy article doesn't include a link to the actual index.
And D Bozko, no one needs the US to bail them out of anything. Fix up your own problems before you meddle with other countries. (How's Detroit looking huh?)

If anyone finds the original list, can you post it here? I've been looking, and none of the news stories I find link back to it. Thanks.

Ah, the bozos come out for the ever-popular chance to take a blind poke at America.

This list is the mother of all generalizations.

@ Miss Cellania. Thank you, that is true, I noticed this as well. I think however that it won't be a tumble for them (Iceland)as it is mainly GDP that gets affected by the crisis. I guess they'll keep growing old and have a good education system without hyper-grown banks now, so still a decent showing on the next list is in line.

@angstrom. Good list, and comeback. Happy to see my fellow Danes doing their bit, and fellow Scandinavians of course.

@ Briannana. I don't think any bozos came out to sucker-punch America here. Some comments were made about how America, being all helpful and giving, was causing it to be so low on the list and that was simply being refuted, in an ever so polite manner I think. At least this has been the most polite 'pissing'-contest I've seen in a while without it becoming nasty and overly political within minutes.

@ Ki. Here is the list from the UNDP website
http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Summary.pdf

It would be interesting to see immigration numbers going into all these countries as well.

I can never tell if the religious folk are kidding, but I'll just take B.M.'s comment as sarcastic, because I don't think people in a country as developed as the USA could think as backwards as that.

One thing about these country that no one talks about is that they are for all intents and purpose

Monoculture

Name me one black leader from these countries.
One Latino organisation
In fact some of these countries are having big pushes to get rid of " Them People"

Yea they are great countries to live in. If you are white, educated, and have money. If not don't bother coming here.

Orn - Thanks for the link.

Good discussion. I wonder how the list would reorder without GDP in the mix. Obviously this is a category that is heavily waited toward places like the US, China, Japan, Germany, etc and one might argue is not the best indicator of quality of life.

For those interested in the comments concerning world aid numbers, visualeconomics.com has a couple interesting charts that show the largest contributors in aid (although not in %GDP or $ per capita) and how some large economics spend their money between healthcare, military, and education. The argument about who gives more is complicated when comparing countries with massively different GDPs and populations.

Floorman56 - I don't think diversity in culture is as important to quality of life as is the interaction between those cultures. Your argument seems to suggest that the US is superior because we have a black president, but one could argue the US is as racially and culturally unstable as any country listed in the top 10.

@FloorMan56
I'm not sure which countries you're referring to because Norway is ripe with many nationalities. I myself am a mixed Asian living well in Norway for 11 years now. And last time I checked, Japan is mostly Asian...

@FloorMan56

Canada:
Black leader: Governor General Michaelle Jean (http://nimg.sulekha.com/Others/original700/barack-obama-michaelle-jean-2009-2-19-12-3-11.jpg)
Latino Organization: Canadian Hispanic Congress (http://canadianhispaniccongress.ca)

Bonus: The GG before Michaelle Jean was Chinese.
We've also had a female Prime Minister (mind you, it was Kim Campbell, but still).

@Kate D

This is true, but the difference is that the Governor General was appointed by the Queen, not elected by the people. The sad thing is that I almost forgot about Kim Campbell. She was wedged between Mulroney & Chretien years, where a lot of big things happened, but I wonder if it is better to be forgotten then dispised.

there I go canada!

Australia is pretty sweet indeed. So much natural beauty, particularly the Great Ocean Road drive. Only problem is the Sydney property prices. The cost of living in Sydney is pretty high indeed.

interesting stats angstrom!

I have seen many un-American countries and they all hate the USA. I hear about McDonalds, the Brady Bunch, Iraq, Afghanistan, Starbucks, GM, Monsanto, Bush, Vietnam etc etc ...it is endless.

Why do they hate our freedoms?

Why do they hate our freedoms?

I think it's our military in 2/3rds of the world, making sure all their natural resources flow back to us that they hate; when around 4 or 5% of the world's population suck up over 25% of the worlds resources, while at the same time having their military stationed in 2/3rds of the world, you have to admit, on the surface of it, it looks pretty bad for us, especially given that the average "American" has double digit I.Q.s, and can't talk to you about anything other than their favorite T.V. show, sporting event, or pop star.

"I suppose Epsilons don't really mind being Epsilons," she said aloud. ... They don't know what it's like being anything else."

B.M.: you take every possible opportunity to slag the U.S. You twist about every comment you make into a hate-filled rant toward the U.S. You managed to turn the "different flavours of Pepsi" into a jab against the U.S.

Maye you're a troll, maybe you have some issues. I'm thinking maybe it's the issues.

I do love the ever ignorant American thinking their country actually helps other nations, HAHA.

B.M. means "bowel movement". That's all we really need to know.

Top 25 Most Liveable Cities 2009 – Monocle

http://www.psfk.com/2009/06/top-25-most-liveable-cities-2009-monocle-magazine-zurich-copenhagen-tokyo-munich-helsinki.html

@ Briannana

Quite the opposite. The overpowering idiocy here is to be seen in the US citizens claiming that the US is the best place in the world to live on the basis of nothing more than blind prejudice. Bear in mind that of the developed nations the citizens of the USA are among the least traveled and are as a result not generally well placed to comment. BTW an "eight countries in five days" tour of Europe doesn't count as experiencing another country.

@Home Solar Energy

Hardly. While you may live that life the vast majority of people (as in at least five nines) do not have the option. You are a statistical irrelevance.

@ andrew-lynch

fun(ny) list. They listed Singapore on it which incidentally is a country last time i looked:)

@Orn: Singapore is a city-state. It's a city AND a sovereign nation! Pretty cool, eh?

@Gauldar: He said "black leader", nothing about elections. Plus, most of our political system, including several Prime Ministers, have been unelected.

Monkey Poo - "The overpowering idiocy here is to be seen in the US citizens claiming that the US is the best place in the world to live on the basis of nothing more than blind prejudice." Really? I was pretty sure the overpowering issue had to do with trolls.

I would also regard your statement about how well traveled people are being a factor as being off base. A vacation, even if you're spending a week or two, will not tell you much about living there. The communities in the US, as is the case in much of the developed world, are made up of people from many cultures. You can learn as much from your neighbors about quality of life as you can from visiting there.

B.M. you’re a typical American IDIOT. And I hope you will die a painful death. You are so damn ignorant, Get your ass out of the trailer your white inbreed ass lives in, and get some class. It’s a multi-cultural world now (for the better) and you need a cultural slap in the face. I would love to be there when you get slaped.

hey ByrdBrain, B.M. stand for bullshit master. he has it down to an art.

OK, that's enough. No more personal attacks. Stick to the issues, or comments will be closed.

"B.M. you’re a typical American IDIOT. And I hope you will die a painful death. You are so damn ignorant, Get your ass out of the trailer your white inbreed ass lives in, and get some class. It’s a multi-cultural world now (for the better) and you need a cultural slap in the face. I would love to be there when you get slaped."

Ad hominem attacks are the first resort of simple minded twits, which just serve to bolster my argument.

Call me names, express a desire to see me die painfully, make fun of people who live in trailers, (not me, but clearly showing a lack of "multi-cultural ism" in yourself) I agree with Miss Cellania: If you can't argue a point without Ad hominem attacks, then STFU.

"B.M. means “bowel movement”. That’s all we really need to know."

B.M. also means Best Man, Brothel Matron, Big Mac, Born Magically, Bagged milk, Bored maestro, Buggered meticulously, etc... Given your attraction to the scatological, I think you can relate to my last example the most. (oops, was that an ad hominem attack on my part?)

Really, as I look around me, (living in the U.S. of A.) I see an almost total lack of critical thinking. Don't get mad, get educated. Don't get indignant, get
unfettered.

I bet BM is not a real American. Probably, either middle eastern or some other disgruntled ethnic group. That's why you won't get a name.. probably from Libya ....

I hate the U.S.A. There just mad because they did'nt come first. It's time to get your head around the idea that the WHOLE world hates you.

I'm an American (originally from Mexico) who happens to disagree with a large portion of American foreign policy. I, like most other people that I know, hated the American government as much as the rest of the world did in the Bush era for destroying the face of America to the rest of the world, and continue to frown upon many practices of the government, even today, a day in which we live under an African American president who is here to give us "change." That being said, I think our government does many things right as well. I, like most people that I know, do not have the "America is the greatest thing to ever happen to the world" mentality. If we want to talk about jumping into a bandwagon, let's talk about the America-haters. A universal observation can be easily be made (i.e. in a forum such as this) - ignorance dominates the world. The problem with that style of thinking (and the people on the particular bandwagon - american hating) is that they seem to have a hatred for the American people. Not the government, not Big Oil, not Wall Street and corporate America, but the people. This hatred is strikingly similar to the hatred that an ignorant American might have for, say, Hispanics, people of Middle-Eastern descent, etc. And it makes me sad. I will take Levi above as a sad example. "I hate the U.S.A. There just mad because they did'nt come first. It's time to get your head around the idea that the WHOLE world hates you." The other day, I read a comment on a similar site. "Get out of our country, you f***** mexicans. Everybody in america f****** hates you!" The similarity between the two comments is undeniable. No reasons, no explanations, nothing. What do you know about the American people? You see what we call a 'tool' or 'douche bag' go to your country and act like a complete moron. Compound that with what you see on international news (or perhaps simply your national news, if the U.S. has managed to put it's nose in your business) and immediately think that everyone in America is as ignorant as the guy you saw or the politician who gave a speech. You failed to notice the nice, educated, tolerant American family that walked right by the moron, scornfully glaring at the guy for making such a terrible impression. It's the same here, too. People hate mexicans and african americans because they see them on the news, in prisons, etc., but fail to notice the myriad of caucasian trash that lines the streets as much as the mexican trash and the african american trash. The rest of the hard working, honest, decent mexicans and african americans go unnoticed in many eyes. Why? Because the hardest thing you can do is to find the faults in yourself before pointing fingers at anyone else. This, combined with frighteningly common self-indulgence and ignorance (here and everywhere else in the world) is the true plague of society, and, I'm afraid, will continue to plague humanity for as long as we exist. I am ignorant in many ways myself. I, like most people in this world, find it easier to point and blame than to find my own faults. But I, as anyone who truly desires a better tomorrow, wake up every day trying to gain new knowledge. I try my best to open my eyes to the world, to other cultures, to other ways of life. Ignorance will always be here to destroy and instill hate. Einstein should have said "Knowledge is limited, but IGNORANCE encircles the world." However, when it comes down to it, it is each individual who must try to grow that is responsible change, for a better tomorrow. Peace and love from a non-ithinkamericanisthebestcountryintheworld-american.

This comment is dedicated to any (and only to any) ignorant person leaving ignorant comments on a blog (no one can see who I am, right? I can say whatever I want!).

To D Bozko your comment about the us being international, well that's a funny thought. You obviously haven't been educated well enough to know about the the period of united states isolationism. (Which by the way in some peoples opinion lead to the rise of Hitler because of the economic crisis which left Germany in shambles)

America has been the greatest country in the world. Its experiment in democary in the form of a republic is probably one of the greatest acheivements of all time. That being said the grand ideas of our fore fathers has been subverted by greed and coruption of the very ideals that has made America great. Our leaders over the last 100 years have systematly disasembled our nation, squanderd our wealth and shamed the great people of our nation. Now as we stand on the brink of insolvency America is an easy target for riticule and slander. The backbone of America is her silent hard working everyday people who are loving of there family, charitable to all in need, color blind,and peaceful God loving Citizens. We no longer are in control of what our government does, Yes most of us were so busy raising our children going to work, and living our lives that we were ignorant of what our politians were up to. They have pissed away our fortunes, and stolen the rest, they have spent more money than can ever be repaid. Please stand with me and condem thoes who have done this to our country, However dear reader I belive this is about to change In all of this Nations history, When in our darkest hour a hero has always arose George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, And one day soon I pray another hero will don the mantle of Truth, honor, justice, and morality, and tear down this wall of corruption, theivery and imorality and set America back on the path of being the shining light to all of the world. We the real people of America crave to be proud of what our country stands for, what it has been to the world and what it can be in the future.

Wow, I cant believe some of the comments here;

"I bet BM is not a real American. Probably, either middle eastern or some other disgruntled ethnic group. That's why you won't get a name.. probably from Libya"

LOLS! Man you're really doing nothing to help the argument that americans are very worldly. I swear i've heard a very similar argument followed closely by, "now git offa mah prowpertay 'fore ah shoots me a trespasser! EEEHAW!"

"The communities in the US, as is the case in much of the developed world, are made up of people from many cultures. You can learn as much from your neighbors about quality of life as you can from visiting there."

Aww... thats a cute notion, care to back that up with a credible argument? I'm only saying this because i lived in France for a while, and even university level french students back home dont have clue 1 about what its like. Trust me on that.

Anyhoo, i'm gonna keep watching this thread, I need a giggle after a hard day of work.

For all you God loving country folk, God asked that we do 2 important things: 1) Love God with all our heart by putting no one else before Him 2) Love thy neighbor as you love yourself. You will find that Jesus states these 2 most important commandments in the book of Matthew. So, I'm trying to figure out "where is the love" in any of these comments. On a daily, God has to be shaking his head at all of us saying, "These lost fools don't get it. Don't they know this "life" is just a test run. How in the world will they expect me to allow them to live eternally in heaven despite, gender, race, political views, social status, religion (because God is only interested in a relationship with Him) or even age if they can't temporarily live with one another here on earth. They fight, kill, and steal land & liberties from one another. Seriously, you think I'll allow them into MY paradise with those wicked methods? Since all they do is raise hell on earth, maybe in the afterlife, hell will look a lot more familiar to many of them, thus, they'll--you'll be right at home. I'm sadden that you've totally disregarded the 2 simplest things I've asked you by giving into greed, power, and more importantly ignorance. So, if you are to fight over a life which is really not yours to keep, over land that you can't take with you in death, material things that are worthless here and have absolutely no value in death, we'll please by all means enjoy, because there's a hell just eager to have you, because heaven won't tolerate your drama"

As each and everyone of you "evolve" in this life, my prayers and hopes are that you learn to love God with all your heart and you learn to love your neighbor as you love yourself. I can only hope that I live & give in the manner that God wants and ask of me. And if God is pleased by how I spend my time in his earth, if God is pleased at how & that I loved my neighbor, I hope to see many of you in that paradise called Heaven.

I encourage all of you to live in way that is pleasing to God and love in a way that is pleasing to God. I pray that your 2010 & beyond will bring a new found peace and happiness to all of your lives-to all of our lives.

Sincerely,

Seriously