It's official- we are the second best place on Earth to live in terms of general economic well-being, jus tpipped at the post by Norway.

 

From the SMH:

AUSTRALIA is second best – almost but not quite the greatest place in which to live, according to the latest United Nations human development index. Norway pips us by a flared nostril. Australia scores 0.93 on a scale of 0 to 1, where 1 is the highest score possible. At 0.94, Norway's margin over Australia is close to invisible.

Not so for the poorest scorer in the UN's ranking of 187 nations. The Democratic Republic of the Congo gets a score of 0.29. The UN says the average length of schooling there is 3.5 years. Life expectancy is 49 years.

The human development index is made up of life expectancy, years of schooling and gross national income per capita. Australia scores spectacularly well on life expectancy with 82 years, second only to Japan, which has 83.

 

Full article is here