Where Did Ireland Place in The List of Best Countries to Live In?

To get it out of the way, Ireland is not THE best country in the world to live in; Norway is, according to the UN, marking the twelfth consecutive year that the Scandinavian land of fjords and vikings has topped the list.

Each year, the UN ranks countries on their HDI (Human Development Index), which measures countries in education, life expectancy and income/standard of living - and it seems that Norway is knocking it out of the park, year-on-year. We know what you're thinking: nor way. (Sorry).

Average life expectancy in Norway is 81.6 years while its gross national income is  $64,992/€59,938.

Ireland didn't make the top 5, but it is ranked joint sixth with Germany as the best country in the world to live in. But we beat them at football, which surely gives us the edge.

Ireland was also ranked more highly on the HDI than the US, the UK, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada and Japan.

The lowest-ranked - or worst places in the world to live, if you want to be blunt about it - according to the HDI are African countries Niger, Chad, Eritrea, Central African Republic and Burundi.

The top 20 was as follows:

1. Norway

2. Australia

3. Switzerland

4. Denmark

5. Netherlands

6. Germany

6. Ireland

8. United States

9. Canada

9. New Zealand

11. Singapore

12. Hong Kong, China (SAR)

13. Liechtenstein

14. Sweden

14. United Kingdom

16. Iceland

17. South Korea

18. Israel

19. Luxembourg

20. Japan

Are you happy with live on the Emerald Isle?