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
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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
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Are you happy with live on the Emerald Isle?
