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France is the best place to live says study
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View this Thread in Original format
| oomaha28 |
Britain has dropped to 25th place on a list of the best places in the world to live - behind countries such as the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Uruguay.
While France tops the poll for the fifth year running, the UK's climate, crime rate, cost of living, congested roads and overcrowded cities have pushed it even further down from last year's ranking at 20.
The Quality of Life Index, published by International Living magazine for the 30th year, says the French live life to the full, while Britons are over-worked.
In all, 194 countries are surveyed on nine criteria, including the cost of living, culture and leisure, environment, safety, culture and weather.
Australia is placed second after France, followed by Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand.
Even former communist countries where unemployment is still rife are considered better places to settle down in than Britain, with Lithuania and the Czech Republic coming in at 22nd and 24th place respectively.
 
Cars near high-rise flats in Vilnius, Lithuania: The Baltic state came in three places above Britain in the list
 
Ice skaters trek around the frozen Lake Nasijarvi in Tampere, southern Finland: The Scandinavian country came 18th in the list of best places in the world
Variety is also seen as a major factor in France's appeal, with the survey noting: 'Romantic Paris offers the best of everything, but services don't fall away in Alsace's wine villages, in wild and lovely Corsica, in lavender-scented Provence. Or in the Languedoc of the troubadors, bathed in Mediterranean sunlight.'
Britain does not top a single category in the survey, which is compiled using official government statistics, data from the World Health Organisation and the views of the magazine's editors around the globe.
The U.S. fell from third to seventh place because of the economic crisis last year. A magazine spokesman said: 'Sustaining the American Dream has escalated out of the reach of many.'
Germany is widely praised for its efficiency and leisure facilities, with the magazine noting that 'the Harz Mountains now has a specialist hiking trail for nudists. Germany is arguably the world's most naturist-friendly country'. |
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| Intangible |
| Go Canada. Thats pretty good. |
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| LightsOut |
:rolleyes:
United States two spots ahead of Canada???
ummmm....even with the sub-prime mortgage crisis, massive corporate bailouts, and lack of universal healthcare.......
now thats whack. |
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| hardcore trancer |
| Is there is a link for this article by any chance?:p |
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| Magnetonium |
EDIT: HUGE difference between 2009 and 2010 rankings, huge.
According to this:
http://internationalliving.com/2010...y-of-life-2010/
Canada just keep falling and falling. I remember when Chretien was the PM, we were #1 for several years in a row.
And then what the hell happened to Norway, Sweden? I still think that Norway should be #1, they are waaay better on so many living conditions. Just because they have pump lots of gas and oil, doesnt mean they should be punished for environmental "ignorance". This poll is biased. France MY ASS. With their huge slums, dropping productivity, rising unemployment ... and going up to #1?
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| DJ Mach X |
| quote: | Originally posted by Magnetonium
EDIT: HUGE difference between 2009 and 2010 rankings, huge.
According to this:
http://internationalliving.com/2010...y-of-life-2010/
Canada just keep falling and falling. I remember when Chretien was the PM, we were #1 for several years in a row.
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Good thing you shut your mouth and went back to research properly afterexclaiming "thread closed", editing your intial post and then did your own PROPER research to see where he was getting his facts from...:rolleyes: |
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| geroin |
| switzerland should be #1 then norway and germany |
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| PivotTechno |
| C'mon, everyone knows these things are just big popularity contests. I mean Portugal at 21 I can understand, but Malta at 15? Seriously? |
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| Magnetonium |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ Mach X
Good thing you shut your mouth and went back to research properly afterexclaiming "thread closed", editing your intial post and then did your own PROPER research to see where he was getting his facts from...:rolleyes: |
Well, I was wondering what the relevance of the topic was to us. The guy signed up only minutes ago to post this? What are supposed to do - chant GO FRANCE GO? UK slips to 25th, oh wow.
I was typing as I went along, and I published my post before I finished my research, I Googled 2009 before I did 2010 (THEY GOT STATS FOR 2010 ALREADY??? ITS BEEN ONLY 4 FREAKING MONTHS!!! WTF).
I am not always right, you know. But I got my ass covered, thanks for noticing. :)
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| hardcore trancer |
| quote: | Originally posted by geroin
switzerland should be #1 then norway and germany |
AGREED :gsmile: |
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| DJ Mach X |
You have to go here...
http://www1.internationalliving.com/qofl2010/
Then you can see where the points came from... you'll see Canada is only actually 5 pts away from #1 spot and 1pt away from USA and they killed up primarily in climate.. which is not really our fault more half of our land is pretty much unlivable lol..
Look at where the points came from and you'll see much clearly how they came with this stack ranking...
| quote: |
How the numbers are crunched
To rate and rank the 194 countries considered in this year’s Quality of Life Index, we took into account:
Cost of Living (15% of the final ranking). This is a guide to how much it will cost you to live in a style comparable to—or better than—the standard of living you’re likely enjoying in the U.S. Our primary source in this category is the U.S. State Department’s Index of Overseas Living Costs, used to compute cost-of-living allowances for a Western-style of living in various countries. We also consider each country’s income tax rates.
Culture and Leisure (10%). To calculate this score, we look at literacy rate, newspaper circulation per 1,000 people, primary and secondary school enrollment ratios, number of people per museum, and a subjective rating of the variety of cultural and recreational offerings.
Economy (15%). We consider interest rates, GDP, GDP growth rate, GDP per capita, the inflation rate, and GNP per capita to determine each country’s Economy score.
Environment (10%). To figure a country’s score in this category, we look at population density per square kilometer, population growth rate, greenhouse emissions per capita, and the percentage of total land that is protected.
Freedom (10%). Freedom House’s 2009 survey is the main source for these scores, with an emphasis on a citizen’s political rights and civil liberties.
Health (10%). In this category, we look at calorie consumption as a percentage of daily requirements, the number of people per doctor, the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people, the percentage of the population with access to safe water, the infant mortality rate, life expectancy, and public health expenditure as a percentage of a country’s GDP.
Infrastructure (10%). To calculate a country’s Infrastructure score, we look at the length of railways, paved highways, and navigable waterways in each country, and equated these things to each country’s population and size. We also consider the number of airports, motor vehicles , telephones, Internet service providers, and cell phones per capita.
Safety and Risk (10%). For this category, we use the U.S. Department of State’s hardship Differentials and danger allowances, which are based on extraordinarily difficult, notably unhealthy, or dangerous living conditions.
Climate (10%). When deciding on a score for each country’s climate, we look at its average annual rainfall and average temperature…and consider its risk for natural disasters. |
Many MANY factors went into this study... |
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| chinamon |
| haiti should be #1 |
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