Ireland #1
US #13
UK #29

http://www.periodistadigital.com/object.php?o=36165

What is the ranking criteria? Ireland as # 1, very interesting.

I think Ireland has benefited from an amazing spell of economic growth whilst holding onto traditional values, low divorce rates, low crime rates etc. Their GDP per capita is now way above that of the UK and they are often referred to in the British press as The Celtic Tiger.

Yes, filbert you are right. An article I read said that countries like Spain and Ireland moved up a lot on the list (Spain jumped 14 spots) this year because the ranking included factors like "family life" and "community relations" in addition to the usual economic indicators.

The nine factors that went into the rankings are: income, health, political freedom, unemployment, family life, climate, political stability, gender equality, and community relations. I don't know how much weight is put on each factor.

Ireland scored high in every category except climate (obviously) and gender equality.

English language article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4020523.stm

You have to wander about the way these things are assessed. 9 out of the top 10 are European countries (the exception is Australia, a European colony with independence!). Of the 9, only Spain and Italy have sizeable populations, the rest are small. And Iceland comes in above Spain! I mean no disrepect to Iceland but I don't think it suffers the immigration pressures that Spain has.

So, "Quality of life" is to have few or no neighbours and 8 month winters !?

After looking at several studies on the same subject, using somewhat different criteria, but still close to the same methods, I came to the conclusion that this study presented actually doesn't include anything that would make me assume it's correct, except through the eyes of a European.

World studies shows the US as being #8 in best places to live, and Spain is no where on the list, and the only European countries that made the list above the US, are those in Scandinavia, and other nations that have essentially no military.

Like they say, to each their own. I don't place much truck in studies made that are intentionally skewed to represent the specific values that the study makers thing are more important than others.

Wolf

Wolf,

I also looked at several studies at the same subject.
For instance, the UN report for 2004 about the incidence of the poorness in the different countries, Spain ranked 9 and the USA ranked 17 in the list of the countries which the lower incidence of poorness among their people.

The innovation of the Economist’s study is that it does not take into account only economic factors to measure the quality of life, which is a quite reasonable strategy. The economist is a Brit magazine, and the UK scored the worst position among the EU countries, which is a clear indicator that the study is impartial.

If in the studies that you saw Spain is no where in the list, they are irrelevant because since 20 years ago Spain always was included in all the lists made by independent magazines around the world about the states of the well being.

Probably the studies that you looked are influenced by a cheeky pro-Americanism and the rampant anti-Spanish feeling that is a common prejudice, almost a tradition, in the anglo-saxon sphere. But the clichés that you could absorb from your popular literature or the American movies about Spain don’t really influence the reality.

I saw an unrelated study regarding "vice" and the "seven deadly sins" that ranked Spain #1 as the most "vice-ridden" of "developed" nations...to each his own, indeed.

Of course Spain got "high" [low] marks for the heavy eating and drinking associated with its 24-7 lifestyle and being out and about. [Please note that gluttony is listed as a vice, and there is no allowance for exercise to offset the gluttony in the study...I say that because I've always been envious of the pedestrian lifestyle made possible by the civic planning in Spain.]

I'll look for the study and post a link if I can find it.

Hey CaliBasco

This is the best description of Spain that I have noticed in all my life!

to each his own, indeed. Damned right!