Nowadays, more and more people are considering living in another country. This may be due to retirement, looking for a job, a desire for new experiences, or a lifestyle that they cannot achieve in their home country. There are many different factors to consider, such as the cost of living, the real estate market, job opportunities, the availability of education and childcare, the culture of the country you plan to live in, and any language barriers you may encounter.
Development Indicators
It all represents the quality of life a country has to offer and is often the deciding factor for many people. An idea of the required criteria can be obtained by looking at the quality of life index in different countries, which is a composite criterion consisting of certain selected social indicators.
These indicators include:availability of food, he alth care facilities, literacy and education levels, environment, work-time ratio, social opportunities, human rights, free time and its opportunities for spending it, etc. It is not possible to include all determinants of well-being in the construction of a quality index life, because many of these variables are associated with value judgments, there is no single methodological approach to its assessment. Many surveys are conducted every year to determine the country that offers the best quality of life based on various aspects.
Below is one of InterNations' 2017 surveys of the top 10 countries for travel and transportation, he alth and wellness, safety and security, leisure options and personal happiness.
10th place - Germany
High percentage of English speaking population and job opportunities in international companies are just two of the reasons why people choose to move to Germany.
The culture of this country also easily adapts to people from other European countries or the United States. The key areas of the survey where Germany performed best were travel and transport, as it is ranked fifth in this subcategory. Good scores were obtained in the he alth and wellness category, ranking 6th. From the point of view of security, the people of Germany are quite happy, this is reflected in the 17th position. Areas whereGermany performed poorly in leisure options (42nd) and personal happiness (55th).
9th place - Costa Rica
A beautiful and diverse country with a fantastic climate. It is one of the countries that have moved out of the top five since 2016 but still managed to maintain a spot in the top ten on the index. Many people find it attractive when considering moving abroad, and natives of this country do not want to leave because they fear they will not achieve a similar standard of living elsewhere in the world. Despite the drop in the index, Costa Rica still ranks 4th for personal happiness and 5th for leisure options. It also ranks 10th for he alth and wellness and 20th for safety. The reason for the downgrade was travel and transportation, as it is ranked 35th in this subcategory.
8th place - Switzerland
Zurich is the financial center of Switzerland and many come here to find work in international financial companies. This country also attracts people who seek to take advantage of winter sports opportunities or want to live surrounded by the magnificent beauty of nature.
Switzerland ranks first on the list for safety and third in the travel and transport category. Included in the top 20 in terms of he alth and well-being, ranking 18th. It is these strong performances that led Switzerland to take 8th place in the overall ranking. Nevertheless, this is a country of two extremes, since itranked 37th in vacation options and 56th in personal happiness.
7th place - Austria
Austria has dropped from fifth to seventh place on the list since last year, losing ground in some sub-categories. Despite this, it is still the second best country in terms of he alth and wellbeing. Another area in which Austria has performed well is travel and transport. People living in this country note that travel and transportation systems increase the efficiency and convenience of living here. Included in the top 20 in terms of safety, ranking 19th. The areas where Austria performed poorly were recreation (27th) and personal happiness (53rd).
6th place - Japan
Last year, Japan entered the top five countries in terms of quality of life. Despite this drop, she still performs quite well in every category.
It is ranked 4th in safety and security, 7th in the he alth and wellness category, and 9th in the travel and transportation category. The two areas where Japan scored poorly are leisure options (33rd) and personal happiness (48th).
5th place - Czech Republic
The Czech Republic has a unique culture and a rich history. The relatively low cost of living attracts people to settle here. The area in which the Czech Republic scored the most is travel and transport (4th). In terms of safety, it is in 16th place, and in terms ofhe alth and well-being - one place lower. The Czech Republic is ranked 18th in vacation choices and 20th in personal happiness.
4 place - Singapore
Singapore is becoming an increasingly popular place to live and people from all over the world are moving to this country because of the amazing job opportunities, diverse culture and city buzz. In 2016, this country ranked 8th overall, but it moved up four rungs to finish fourth this year. One of the reasons for this growth is that Singapore now ranks first in travel and transport rankings. The capital has excellent infrastructure, and it is easy for people who commute from the surrounding area to work. Another area in which this country has done well is security and protection, as it is the third best country on the list. Singapore ranks relatively well in the he alth and wellness category, ranking 24th, while the country ranks 23rd for leisure choices. However, on the index of personal happiness, Singapore is poorly ranked 43rd.
3rd place - Spain
Spain is one of the best places for people who go on a Mediterranean vacation. Warm coastal areas and diverse metropolitan areas are attractive attractions for those who prefer to live in Europe. It is the climate and interesting cultural attractions that inspire people to visit this country and even move here forever.
Another reason whywhich people want to live in Spain is an index of the quality of life of the population. Despite being third in the overall list, Spain is actually number one in terms of holiday choice. This country also excels in the category of personal happiness, ranking sixth. In the sub-category of he alth and wellness, Spain is ranked 12th, and the same position in the travel and transport list. The sub-category that lets Spain down is safety and security, as it only ranks 25th in this section of the survey.
2nd place - Taiwan
Taiwan topped the list of countries with the best quality of life last year. Although it has dropped one position this year, the people of this country still believe that it represents a fantastic prospect for life.
In the he alth and wellness category, she comes out on top, and in travel and transportation, she ranks sixth overall. The categories that lowered Taiwan's rankings were leisure options and personal happiness. In the first case, the country took 20th place in the list, and in the second - only 24th.
1st place - Portugal
Portugal has made one of the biggest changes to the list since 2016, moving up 13 places to now top the list. This country has always been a popular tourist destination due to its beautiful surroundings and great climate. However, a happy life does not depend only on pleasant memories of holidays, and those who have moved to Portugal testify to a dignified lifestyle thatthis country has to offer to expatriates.
To become the absolute leader in the list, Portugal received high marks in all indicators in all subcategories and the country's quality of life index is very high. Her best ranking was for vacation options as she is in second position in that subcategory. She also performed well in the Personal Happiness section, finishing in third place. In terms of he alth and wellness, Portugal entered the top ten countries, ranking 9th. The two areas where it scored less well, while still in the top 20 countries on the list, were safety and security (11th) and travel and transportation (14th).
As you can see from this list, the weakest point in most countries is the category of personal happiness. Apparently, it really depends on us and hardly any country can give it to us.
Does GNP determine quality of life
D. Morris assessed on three dimensions: life expectancy, infant mortality rate, and literacy rate. For each indicator, he developed a scale that includes numbers ranging from 1 to 100, with 1 representing the worst performing country in any country and 100 representing the best performing country. After normalizing these three measures, Morris proposed taking a simple arithmetic average of the three measures to construct what is known as the Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI). It turns out that a high level of GNP per capita is nota guarantee of a better quality of life. Compared to GNP measures, this method has a number of advantages, as it takes into account welfare considerations and combines the benefits of economic growth with improved human potential. The GNP measure has been criticized for not shedding light on income distribution, while the PQLI also analyzes the nature of income distribution, as it may affect life expectancy, reduce infant mortality, and increase literacy through better income distribution.. However, this is a limited measure as it does not include many of the social and psychological attributes that were defined as a measure of quality of life, such as safety, fairness, and human rights.
Achievements in key aspects of development
Similarly, an attempt to measure the quality of life development index is the Human Development Index (HDI), created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country. The index can also be used to evaluate national policies by asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can achieve different human development outcomes.
The Human Development Index quality of life is a summary measure of average achievement in key areas: long and he althy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living. HDI is the averagegeometric normalized indices for each of the three dimensions. However, the HDI simplifies and reflects only part of what human development entails. It does not reflect inequality, poverty, human security, empowerment and other important aspects.
Life satisfaction is the degree of a person's he alth, feeling of comfort and ability to participate in or enjoy life's events. The Quality of Life Index is ambiguous as it can refer to both the experience a person has in their life and the living conditions they are in and is therefore subjective.
Sometimes there are situations when a person with a disability may testify to a high quality of life, while a he althy person who has recently lost his job may consider the quality of life to be low. While one individual may define quality of life in terms of we alth or life satisfaction, another may define it in terms of ability (e.g., emotional and physical well-being).
