Know : Ranking of Countries : Where to be Born?

The index was calculated for 2013 and includes data from 80 countries and territories. The survey used ten quality of life factors along with forecasts of future GDP per capita to determine a nation’s score.

A Comparison from 1988 to 2013

Rank	Country or territory	Score (out of 10)
1	Switzerland	8.22
2	Australia	8.12
3	Norway	8.09
4	Sweden	8.02
5	Denmark	8.01
6	Singapore	8.00
7	New Zealand	7.95
8	Netherlands	7.94
9	Canada	7.81
10	Hong Kong	7.80
11	Finland	7.76
12	Ireland	7.74
13	Austria	7.73
14	Taiwan	7.67
15	Belgium	7.51
16	Germany	7.38
16	United States	7.38
18	United Arab Emirates	7.33
19	South Korea	7.25
20	Israel	7.23
21	Italy	7.21
22	Kuwait	7.18
23	Chile	7.10
24	Cyprus	7.10
25	Japan	7.08
26	France	7.04
27	United Kingdom	7.01
28	Czech Republic	6.96
28	Spain	6.96
30	Costa Rica	6.92
30	Portugal	6.92
32	Slovenia	6.77
33	Poland	6.66
34	Greece	6.65
35	Slovakia	6.64
36	Malaysia	6.62
37	Brazil	6.52
38	Saudi Arabia	6.49
39	Mexico	6.41
40	Argentina	6.39
40	Cuba	6.39
42	Colombia	6.27
43	Peru	6.24
44	Estonia	6.07
44	Venezuela	6.07
46	Croatia	6.06
46	Hungary	6.06
48	Latvia	6.01
49	China	5.99
50	Thailand	5.96
51	Turkey	5.95
52	Dominican Republic	5.93
53	South Africa	5.89
54	Algeria	5.86
54	Serbia	5.86
56	Romania	5.85
57	Lithuania	5.82
58	Iran	5.78
59	Tunisia	5.77
60	Egypt	5.76
61	Bulgaria	5.73
62	El Salvador	5.72
63=	Philippines	5.71
63	Sri Lanka	5.71
65	Ecuador	5.70
66	India	5.67
66	Morocco	5.67
68	Vietnam	5.64
69	Jordan	5.63
70	Azerbaijan	5.60
71	Indonesia	5.54
72	Russia	5.31
73	Syria	5.29
74	Kazakhstan	5.20
75	Pakistan	5.17
76	Angola	5.09
77	Bangladesh	5.07
78	Ukraine	4.98
79	Kenya	4.91
80	Nigeria	4.74

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s where-to-be-born index, (previously called the quality-of-life index) attempts to measure which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead. It is based on a method that links the results of subjective life-satisfaction surveys to the objective determinants of quality of life across countries along with a forward-looking element.

The independent variables in the estimating equa­tion include:  (2006)

• Material wellbeing as measured by GDP per capita
• Life expectancy at birth
• The quality of family life based primarily on divorce rates
• The state of political freedoms
• Job security (measured by the unemployment rate)
• Climate (measured by two variables: the average deviation of minimum and maximum monthly temperatures from 14 degrees Celsius; and the number of months in the year with less than 30mm rainfall)
• Personal physical security ratings (based primarily on recorded homicide rates and ratings for risk from crime and terrorism)
• Quality of community life (based on membership in so­cial organisations)
• Governance (measured by ratings for corruption)
• Gender equality (measured by the share of seats in parliament held by women).

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Courtesy and Source : www.economist.com and Wikipedia

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