The Top 5 Best Countries to Live in: 2007

  Country HDI Score
1 Norway 0.971
2 Australia 0.970
3 Iceland 0.969
4 Canada 0.966
5 Ireland 0.965
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 Special Report
  1. The United States ranks 13th on the HDI list for 2009.
  2. The Human Development Index was developed by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, a former Finance Minister of Pakistan who died in New York 1998 of complications from pneumonia.
  3. China registered the largest gain in rank (seven places) in 2009, followed by Colombia and Peru (five places). In each of these countries, this gain can be traced to relatively fast income growth.
  4. Every year, more than 5 million people cross international borders to go and live in a developed country in search of a better life.
  5. According to the report, Bhagyawati, a woman from India working on a construction site, earns the equivalent of US $1.20 per day.
China registered the largest gain in rank (seven places) in 2009, followed by Colombia and Peru (five places). In each of these countries, this gain can be traced to relatively fast income growth. In India people from lower castes working on construction sites can earn the equivalent of US $1.20 per day.
Tags: Country Statistics, People, Top 5 Highest, Canada

Sources:  Human Development Report 2009 -Human Development Index rankings, UNDP.

List Notes: Data is for the year 2007. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of a country's human development. It measures the average achievements of a country in three basic dimensions: A) a long and healthy life as measured by life expectancy at birth, B) access to knowledge as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined gross enrollment rate in education and C) a decent standard of living as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) in international dollars.
Best Countries to Live in: 2007

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