Which countries have the highest standard of living? Standard of living refers to the rank of getting pleasure for everyday life in luxury and extravagance by an individual or a society. There are certain factors to consider supporting the rankings to find out the answer. Highest standard of living can be measured thru the country’s level of safety, standard of education (where knowledge as measured by the adult literacy rate and the gross enrolment ratio of the combined primary, secondary and tertiary students), economic situation, life contentment and/or expectancy at birth (wherein a long and healthy life is measured) and household income to name a few.
As mentioned before in our article about the countries with the best quality of life, one of the important indicators to help evaluate the welfare of an individual or people in a country is to know their condition and worth of life. In this list where we are going to find out the top 11 countries with the highest standard of living, we are going to measure the income and the poverty rate of the people. We are also going to assess the quality of the life and other cultural and social aspects of the country. A decent standard of living is also measured by the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the country wherein the value of all goods and services produces in the economy is divided by the population.
Wouldn’t be great to find out which of these countries have the highest standard of living…who knows maybe one day we could visit and experience an excellent chance at a blissful life.
Now let’s check out how they ranked accordingly to the HDI (Human Development Index), a methodology used to compare and measure the different factors that will describe a country if it is a developing or developed nation. Last July 24, 2014, the latest report on HDI was launched in Tokyo wherein 30% of the world’s population have high human development account. Only 18% of the population falls in the low human development category.
So, let’s check out the list, beginning with:
11. Norway
With more than 5 million populations, it pulls towards its beautiful countryside a lot of tourists that seek fun and entertainment thru the popular Norway Cruise. HDI is 0.943; Literacy is 100% where English is widely spoken. Popular with agricultural products like Barley, wheat and potatoes. Natural resources are petroleum, copper and hydropower. Export and import came from mining, shipbuilding, paper products, metals and chemicals industries.
10. Australia
With 0.929 HDI; the 6th largest country in the world with only 23.8 million populations. Though the climate is relatively dry ranging from temperate in the south and tropical in the north, it has a growing economy and stable financial system resulting to very low public credits and small unemployment.
9. Netherlands
With 0.91 HDI and 99% literacy; have import and export partnership with Germany, France and UK with its Agro-industries, construction, metal and engineering products; Popular to tourists with its scenic town and countryside where they can enjoy the peacefulness of the place.
8. United States of America
US have 0.91 HDI; with more than 313 million populations where 77.1% are white, 12.9% black and 4.2% Asian. The rest are ethnic groups from Hawaii, Alaska and the Pacific islanders. Its total population have 97% literacy. It has a leading industrial power in the world; extremely diversified and technologically advanced. Indeed, it’s one of the countries with highest standard of living in the world!
7. New Zealand
With 0.908 HDI; with a 99% literacy and more than 4.4 million populations; with export and import partnerships with Australia, USA, Japan and China with its food processing industry, textiles, machinery and transportation equipment. The Arts Council of New Zealand is a government organization responsible for developing the arts in New Zealand.
6. Canada
With 0.908 HDI; the country offers lots of jobs that provide high quality living that attract a lot of people to live in Canada. Besides the country is a peaceful place with low crime rates that is why people chose to stay. Canada has 34.8 million people with a 97 to 99% population aged 15 and above who are literate. Tourists will surely enjoy the vast festivals and events celebrations and other exciting things to do like skiing, climbing and a lot more.
5. Ireland
With 0.908 HDI; sought the cooperation of Britain to fight terrorist groups. Dublin is the capital city of Ireland. It has 99% literacy and more than 4.6 million populations. Have import and export partners with US, UK, Germany, France and Switzerland with their food and clothing industries; glass and crystals; and pharmaceuticals.
4. Liechtenstein
With 0.905 HDI; nestled between Switzerland and Austria among mountain ranges. It’s a very small country with only 36,000 populations. It has a Continental climate with four seasons, cold winters with snow or rain and a cool to moderate warm summers. Though it was closely tied with Austria, it has a monetary union with Switzerland so their currency is Swiss Franc. Agricultural products include wheat, barley and potatoes.
3. Germany
With 0.905 HDI; the 7th largest country by area in Europe; with a population of 80.8 million people. Berlin is the capital of Germany. One of the world’s largest and technologically advanced producers of Iron, steel, cement, shipbuilding food and beverages. Exports and imports partners include France, USA, UK, Italy, etc.
2. Sweden
With 0.904 HDI; a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe, it has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. Population is 9.5 million people with 100% literacy. It is technologically advanced with good communication and transportation system. Sweden has an import and export partnerships with USA, Germany, Denmark and Norway. Industries include Iron and steel; Precision equipment; wood pulp and paper; processed foods and motor vehicles. The people lead a high quality of life with its booming real estate market selling affordable and luxurious lands and home.
And, the country with the highest standard of living is: Switzerland
With 0.903 HDI; Natural resources include waterpower, timber and salt; Industries include machinery, chemicals, textiles, watch and precision instruments. Switzerland is the country with the highest standard of living because of their rich natural resources and the booming tourism. It has more than 8 million populations with 100% literacy; Import and export partners include Germany, France, Italy, UK and Japan. Home for Swiss chocolates and Nestle products.
