BRASILIA (Reuters) - Iceland has overtaken Norway as the world's most desirable country to live in, according to an annual U.N. table published on Tuesday that again puts AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states at the bottom.
Rich free-market countries dominate the top places, with Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland the first five but the United States slipping to 12th place from eighth last year in the U.N. Human Development Index.
But the index, blending 2005 figures for life expectancy, educational levels and real per capita income, finds that all 22 countries falling into its "low human development" category are in sub-Saharan Africa, with Sierra Leone last.
In 10 of these countries, two children in five will not reach the age of 40, said the compilers at the U.N. Development Program. Last year's report said HIV/AIDS had had a "catastrophic effect" on life expectancy in the region.
The index ranks 175 U.N. member countries plus Hong Kong and the Palestinian territories. It does not include 17 countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, because of inadequate data.
Norway had held top spot for six years but was edged into second place by Iceland this year because of new life expectancy estimates and updated figures for gross domestic product, or GDP, the report said.
U.N. officials played down the significance of minor short-term shifts in the rankings including the slide in the U.S. position. They said if subsequent data for the year in question been available for last year's report, the United States would have been in 10th, not eighth place.
The United States scores high on real per capita GDP, which at $41,890 is second only to that of Luxembourg ($60,228), but less well on life expectancy -- joint last in the top 26 countries, along with Denmark and South Korea, at 77.9 years.
Japanese have the longest life expectancy -- 82.3 years -- and Zambians the lowest, at 40.5.
The report said most countries had seen their human development index rise over the last 30 years, but in 16 it was lower than in 1990, and in three -- the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe -- lower than in 1975.
Per capita GDP is 45 times higher in Iceland than in Sierra Leone.
The United Nations has published its human development index every year since 1990.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 2:38 pm
Administrator
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
Mitchell wrote:
Green Habit wrote:
I'd love to see the US broken down into states and mix them in amongst the other countries. That would be interesting.
Idaho would surely be near the top.
And Louisiana at 49 or 50.
Well, here we go for life expectancy (a year out of date). Looks like Idaho's right on the norm for the country.
Looks like the South is dragging the US down--not one state in the top twenty. If you take that region out of the equation the life expectancy raises about half a year.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 7:19 pm
Former PJ Drummer
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
I'd like to know where Belgium is on that list. I think we're high and I think I've read that Flanders would be top-5 if we were to be an independant country.
I'd like to know where Belgium is on that list. I think we're high and I think I've read that Flanders would be top-5 if we were to be an independant country.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 7:27 pm
Former PJ Drummer
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
PotatoJunkie wrote:
Angus wrote:
I'd like to know where Belgium is on that list. I think we're high and I think I've read that Flanders would be top-5 if we were to be an independant country.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:02 pm
The Decider
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:38 am Posts: 5575 Location: Sydney, NSW
LittleWing wrote:
General access to medical care would be a more accurate reflection.
In which case, America would get boned even harder.
_________________
Jammer91 wrote:
If Soundgarden is perfectly fine with playing together with Tad Doyle on vocals, why the fuck is he wasting his life promoting the single worst album of all time? Holy shit, he has to be the stupidest motherfucker on earth.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 11:58 pm
Interweb Celebrity
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
i'm pretty sure iceland's government is awesome.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 12:00 am
Supersonic
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:43 am Posts: 10694
shades-go-down wrote:
LittleWing wrote:
General access to medical care would be a more accurate reflection.
In which case, America would get boned even harder.
Not a chance...we easily have far and away the best medical facilities on the face of the earth. Without question.
America has the best cancer institutes, the best heart hospitals, the best childrens hospitals. We have the best surgeons, the best cardiologists, the best neurologists. When the worlds elite get sick, they come here. Not to France, or Canada, or Britain. They come here.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 12:12 am
The Decider
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:38 am Posts: 5575 Location: Sydney, NSW
LittleWing wrote:
America has the best cancer institutes, the best heart hospitals, the best childrens hospitals. We have the best surgeons, the best cardiologists, the best neurologists.
This may all be correct.
LittleWing wrote:
When the worlds elite get sick, they come here. Not to France, or Canada, or Britain. They come here.
Surely I don't need to do the rest of the analysis for you.
_________________
Jammer91 wrote:
If Soundgarden is perfectly fine with playing together with Tad Doyle on vocals, why the fuck is he wasting his life promoting the single worst album of all time? Holy shit, he has to be the stupidest motherfucker on earth.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 12:58 am
Spaceman
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 1:03 am Posts: 24177 Location: Australia
LittleWing wrote:
shades-go-down wrote:
LittleWing wrote:
General access to medical care would be a more accurate reflection.
In which case, America would get boned even harder.
Not a chance...we easily have far and away the best medical facilities on the face of the earth. Without question.
America has the best cancer institutes, the best heart hospitals, the best childrens hospitals. We have the best surgeons, the best cardiologists, the best neurologists. When the worlds elite get sick, they come here. Not to France, or Canada, or Britain. They come here.
_________________ Oh, the flowers of indulgence and the weeds of yesteryear, Like criminals, they have choked the breath of conscience and good cheer. The sun beat down upon the steps of time to light the way To ease the pain of idleness and the memory of decay.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:37 am
Mike's Maniac
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:58 pm Posts: 19700 Location: long island Gender: Female
vacatetheword wrote:
LittleWing wrote:
shades-go-down wrote:
LittleWing wrote:
General access to medical care would be a more accurate reflection.
In which case, America would get boned even harder.
Not a chance...we easily have far and away the best medical facilities on the face of the earth. Without question.
America has the best cancer institutes, the best heart hospitals, the best childrens hospitals. We have the best surgeons, the best cardiologists, the best neurologists. When the worlds elite get sick, they come here. Not to France, or Canada, or Britain. They come here.
we may have the best quality but who really has access to it
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:38 am
Supersonic
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:43 am Posts: 10694
shades-go-down wrote:
LittleWing wrote:
America has the best cancer institutes, the best heart hospitals, the best childrens hospitals. We have the best surgeons, the best cardiologists, the best neurologists.
This may all be correct.
LittleWing wrote:
When the worlds elite get sick, they come here. Not to France, or Canada, or Britain. They come here.
Surely I don't need to do the rest of the analysis for you.
No, do it. Because when I had my eurythmia, even as a commoner, I had the privelege of seeing one of the best, if not the BEST specialist in my problems in the northeast. And when my commoner mom had her cancer, she had the same elite access to one of the worlds best cancer institutes that the elites get. The Mayo Clinic isn't full of rich sick people. John Hopkins isn't full of rich sick people. We all have the same damn access to it. All you need to do is invest in your body like you invest in your car. But somehow in this country, people manage to be more fully responsible for their auto's, then their own bodies, then complain that they're left out of the cold. Oh yeah, there's that thing called called medicare and medicaid, which ironically is the same ticket into those elite hospitals.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:42 am
Administrator
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:51 pm Posts: 14534 Location: Mesa,AZ
LittleWing wrote:
shades-go-down wrote:
LittleWing wrote:
America has the best cancer institutes, the best heart hospitals, the best childrens hospitals. We have the best surgeons, the best cardiologists, the best neurologists.
This may all be correct.
LittleWing wrote:
When the worlds elite get sick, they come here. Not to France, or Canada, or Britain. They come here.
Surely I don't need to do the rest of the analysis for you.
No, do it. Because when I had my eurythmia, even as a commoner, I had the privelege of seeing one of the best, if not the BEST specialist in my problems in the northeast. And when my commoner mom had her cancer, she had the same elite access to one of the worlds best cancer institutes that the elites get. The Mayo Clinic isn't full of rich sick people. John Hopkins isn't full of rich sick people. We all have the same damn access to it. All you need to do is invest in your body like you invest in your car. But somehow in this country, people manage to be more fully responsible for their auto's, then their own bodies, then complain that they're left out of the cold. Oh yeah, there's that thing called called medicare and medicaid, which ironically is the same ticket into those elite hospitals.
Interesting you brought up the car analogy. The biggest problem with health care is the way we pay for it. If auto insurance were like medical insurance, your auto insurance would cost $1000/month and would cover gas, oil changes, minor repairs, scratches, and stereo upgrades.
_________________
John Adams wrote:
In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:53 am
Supersonic
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:43 am Posts: 10694
Also, when I messed up my shoulder real bad back in 2002, my orthopedic surgeon was the orthopedic surgeon for the Buffalo Bills. Yeah, only the elite have access to great health care here...
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 2:01 am
Unthought Known
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 1:54 am Posts: 7189 Location: CA
Medicaid is most definitely not a ticket to the elite hospitals. It is a ticket to the county hospitals that are overcrowded because no private practice could afford to see these patients because of the abysmal reimbursement that the program provides. As far as Medicare goes, however, you are closer to the mark.
Post subject: Re: Iceland best place to live, Africa worst
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 2:18 am
Menace to Dogciety
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:54 pm Posts: 12287 Location: Manguetown Gender: Male
I wouldnt like to live in Iceland, no matter what.
_________________ There's just no mercy in your eyes There ain't no time to set things right And I'm afraid I've lost the fight I'm just a painful reminder Another day you leave behind
Last edited by Human Bass on Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum