Maybe it’s the majestic fjords, you know, the kind that this parrot pines for, or maybe it’s the fact that reading crime novels is a national Easter tradition there, or maybe it’s the long life expectancy (81.6 years); either way, Norway is the best place to live. Each year, the United Nations ranks countries on their Human Development Index (HDI), which looks at income, life expectancy, and income/standard of living. For the 12th year in a row, Norway is Number One with an overall index of 0.94 (they hardly ever win Eurovision, though, so they shouldn’t be so smug).
As well as long life expectancy, the average Norwegian enjoys over 17 years of school. The gross national income is $64,992, and the country has a homicide rate of 2.2 per million people (the U.S homicide rate is more than twice that: 4.7 per million people). Australia came in second in the HDI, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, and Holland.
The Top Ten
