IF YOU'RE WILLING TO FREEZE YOUR BUTT OFF, NORWAY MAY BE THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE

According to an annual United Nations quality of life study, Norway comes in number one for the eighth time. This time the U.S. came in fourth. Zimbabwe – what do you expect with a name like that – has been at the bottom of the list for the past five years.

NORWAY BEST FOR THE GOOD LIFE: UN REPORT
　
Yahoo! News
November 4, 2010
　
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The going only seems to get better in Norway which on Thursday was named by the United Nations as the country with the best quality of life for a record-matching eighth time.
　
The UN's annual A-to-Z of global wealth, poverty, health and education highlighted in its 20th anniversary edition though that despite "growth surges" in the Asia-Pacific region, it is becoming ever more difficult to break into the rich club of nations.
　
Oil-rich Norway -- with its 81.0 years of life expectancy, average annual income of 58,810 dollars and 12.6 years of schooling -- has now topped the Human Development Index (HDI) for all but two years since 2001.
　
It is not the best in any individual category -- average income in Liechtenstein for example is a wallet-busting 81,011 dollars -- but Norway's all-round performance gave it a crushing superiority in the UN Development Programme (UNDP) annual rankings.
　
Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Ireland took the following places in the top five. Zimbabwe came bottom of the 169 nations ranked, behind Mozambique, Burundi, Niger and Democratic Republic of Congo.
　
Zimbabwe, where in stark contrast life expectancy is just 47 years and per capita income 176 dollars, has come bottom of the table for the past five years.
　
DR Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe have seen their HDI value fall below 1970 levels in the four decades since, said the study.
　
"These countries offer lessons on the devastating impact of conflict, the AIDS epidemic and economic and political mismanagement," said UNDP administrator Helen Clarke, the former New Zealand prime minister.
　
The nations which have risen most up the rankings in the 20 years that the report has been produced include "growth miracles" such as China, which has risen eight places in the last five years to 89th, Indonesia and South Korea.