Quality of life is a measure of comfort, health, and happiness by a person or a group of people. Quality of life is determined by both material factors, such as income and housing, and broader considerations like health, education, and freedom. Each year, US & World News releases its “Best States to Live in” report, which ranks states on the quality of life each state provides its residents. In order to determine rankings, U.S. News & World Report considers a wide range of factors, including healthcare, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and the natural environment. More information on these categories and what is measured in each can be found below:

Healthcare includes access, quality, and affordability of healthcare, as well as health measurements, such as obesity rates and rates of smoking. Education measures how well public schools perform in terms of testing and graduation rates, as well as tuition costs associated with higher education and college debt load. Economy looks at GDP growth, migration to the state, and new business. Infrastructure includes transportation availability, road quality, communications, and internet access. Opportunity includes poverty rates, cost of living, housing costs and gender and racial equality. Fiscal Stability considers the health of the government's finances, including how well the state balances its budget. Crime and Corrections ranks a state’s public safety and measures prison systems and their populations. Natural Environment looks at the quality of air and water and exposure to pollution.

This statistic shows a ranking of the best U.S. federal states to live in, according to selected metrics and based on a survey among more than 530,000 Americans. The survey was conducted between January 2011 and June 2012. The findings are presented as index scores composed of the scores regarding various parameters*. According to this index, Utah is the city with the highest liveability and life quality, as it scored 7.5 points.

In 2024, across all states in the United States, Minnesota was ranked first with a health index score of 67.38, followed by Rhode Island and South Dakota. The health index score was calculated by measuring 42 healthcare metrics relevant to health costs, access, and outcome.

In 2023, Uruguay and Chile had the highest Digital Quality of Life index in Latin America and the Caribbean region, at 0.57 and 0.56 points on a scale from zero to one, respectively. In comparison, Venezuela and Honduras scored the lowest index among the presented countries. The index ranks the quality of digital wellbeing in a country.

Users can obtain descriptions, maps, profiles, and ranks of U.S. metropolitan areas pertaining to quality of life, diversity, and opportunities for racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. BackgroundThe Diversity Data project operates a website for users to explore how U.S. metropolitan areas perform on evidence-based social measures affecting quality of life, diversity and opportunity for racial and ethnic groups in the United States. These indicators capture a broad definition of quality of life and health, including opportunities for good schools, housing, jobs, wages, health and social services, and safe neighborhoods. This is a useful resource for people inter ested in advocating for policy and social change regarding neighborhood integration, residential mobility, anti-discrimination in housing, urban renewal, school quality and economic opportunities. The Diversity Data project is an ongoing project of the Harvard School of Public Health (Department of Society, Human Development and Health). User FunctionalityUsers can obtain a description, profile and rank of U.S. metropolitan areas and compare ranks across metropolitan areas. Users can also generate maps which demonstrate the distribution of these measures across the United States. Demographic information is available by race/ethnicity. Data NotesData are derived from multiple sources including: the U.S. Census Bureau; National Center for Health Statistics' Vital Statistics Natality Birth Data; Natio nal Center for Education Statistics; Union CPS Utilities Data CD; National Low Income Housing Coalition; Freddie Mac Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index; Neighborhood Change Database; Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University; Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMD); Dr. Russ Lopez, Boston University School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health; HUD State of the Cities Data Systems; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and Texas Transportation Institute. Years in which the data were collected are indicated with the measure. Information is available for metropolitan areas. The website does not indicate when the data are updated.

According to the survey, as of February 2023, four out of the six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council ranked amongst the top ** in the world for expatriate quality of life. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates topped the list for quality of life, whereas Saudi Arabia and Kuwait came last in the region. Quality of life; an amalgamation of many metrics Since quality of life is dependent on many indicators, it can give us a good insight into many aspects of state welfare policies and services. Saudi Arabia, where the number of foreign workers in the private sector topped *** million, also ranked as having one of the region's lowest quality of life for expatriates. Qatar, which had the second-highest quality of life for expatriates living in the GCC, was ranked as one of the most challenging countries in the region for ease of settling in. The UAE and Qatar, both of which ranked the highest in the survey, also have the highest average salaries and living standards in the region. Foreign workers are a key pillar of the GCC economy Countries in the GCC all have sizable expatriate populations for which their economies are heavily reliant. Roughly ********** of the workforce in the GCC is foreign. Although the share of foreign workers in the GCC has slightly decreased in recent years, they still considerably outweigh the local workforce. Most of these workers comprise the unskilled portion of the occupational category in the GCC. However, with diversifying investments and programs such as Vision 2030, countries have seen a rise in the number of skilled foreign workers.

The European Quality of Life survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives, and how they feel about those circumstances, and their lives in general. It looks at a range of issues, such as employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work-life balance. It also looks at subjective topics, such as people's levels of happiness, how satisfied they are with their lives, and how they perceive the quality of their societies. The survey is carried out every four years.The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) commissioned GfK EU3C to carry out the survey. The survey was carried in the 27 European Member States (EU27), and the survey was also implemented in seven non-EU countries. The survey covers residents aged 18 and over. A selection of key findings from the 2010/11 data released in July 2013 are presented in this briefing: The socio-economic position of Londoners in Europe: An analysis of the 2011 European Quality of Life Survey. For the purposes of the rankings in this report, London is treated as a 35th European country.The themes covered in the analysis below are: volunteering, community relations, trust in society, public services ratings, well-being, health, wealth and poverty, housing, and skills and employment. The tables following the analysis on page 4 show figures and rankings for: - London, - rest of the UK, - Europe average, - the highest ranked country, and - the lowest ranked country. Internet use data for all European NUTS1 areas included in spreadsheet. Note figures based on low sample sizes marked in pink.

In 2024, the U.S. GDP increased from the previous year to about 29.18 trillion U.S. dollars. Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the market value of all goods and services produced within a country. In 2024, the United States has the largest economy in the world. What is GDP? Gross domestic product is one of the most important indicators used to analyze the health of an economy. GDP is defined by the BEA as the market value of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States, regardless of nationality. It is the primary measure of U.S. production. The OECD defines GDP as an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident, institutional units engaged in production (plus any taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not included in the value of their outputs). GDP and national debt Although the United States had the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world in 2022, this does not tell us much about the quality of life in any given country. GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic measurement that is thought to be a better method for comparing living standards across countries because it accounts for domestic inflation and variations in the cost of living. While the United States might have the largest economy, the country that ranked highest in terms of GDP at PPP was Luxembourg, amounting to around 141,333 international dollars per capita. Singapore, Ireland, and Qatar also ranked highly on the GDP PPP list, and the United States ranked 9th in 2022.

In 2022, the United States' E-infrastructure index amounted to 0.1944. By contrast, the Internet affordability index was only 0.0326.

The Child Well-Being Index is an average of factors related to child well-being in the United States. Users can download annual reports about national trends child well-being over time and the most recent Child Well-being Index. Background The Child Well-Being Index (CWI) is a measure of national trends in child well-being over time. This measure, modeled after the Consumer Price Index, is a yearly average of the factors related to child well-being in the United States. The CWI, funded by the Foundation for Child Development, was developed with the intention of summarizing trends in child well-being and facilitating public debate about factors influencing the quality of life of American children and yout h that need to be addressed. Topics include: family economic well-being, health, safety and behavior, educational attainment, community connectedness, social relationships, emotional and spiritual well-being. User Functionality Users can download the PDF detailing the yearly Child Well-Being Index and the accompanying report on trends in child well-being. Users can compare child well-being by race/ethnicity, family income, gender, and age. Data Notes The CWI, which was first created in 2004, is released publicly on an annual basis. This index consists of seven domains of child well-being: family economic well-being, health, safety and behavior, educational attainment, community connectedness, social relationships, emotional and spiritual well-being. These domains are weighted equally. Data sources include the Monitoring the Future Study at the University of Michigan, the U.S. Census, the U.S. Current Population Survey, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Data are released annually, with the most recent data being from 2010. The CWI was created by Drs. Kenneth Land and John Crowell, sociologists at Duke University and is funded by the Foundation for Child Development, a grantmaking organization that funds research, programs, policies, and advocacy for child development issues.

The average for 2024 based on 138 countries was 5.56 points. The highest value was in Finland: 7.74 points and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 1.72 points. The indicator is available from 2013 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

All of the inhabitants in the Holy See, the home of the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, were immigrants in 2020, meaning that they were born outside of the country. Perhaps more interesting are the Gulf States the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait, all with an immigrant population of over ** percent of their total populations, underlining the high importance of migrant workers to these countries' economies. In terms of numbers, the United States had the highest number of immigrants in 2020. Migration to Gulf Cooperation Council states The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait, all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), have a significant amount of migrant labor. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar both rank high in quality-of-life rankings for immigrants. A significant number of migrant workers in the GCC originate from Asia, with the most originating from Bangladesh. As of 2022, nearly ***** thousand Bangladeshi citizens expatriated to work in GCC nations. The American melting pot The United States is known for having high levels of diversity and migration. Migration to the United States experienced peaks from the periods of 1990-1999 as well as 1900-1909. Currently, Latin Americans are the largest migrant group in the United States, followed by migrants from Asia. Out of each state, California has some of the highest naturalization rates. In 2021, ******* people in California naturalized as U.S. citizens, followed by Florida, New York, Texas, and New Jersey.

Of the most populous cities in the U.S., San Jose, California had the highest annual income requirement at ******* U.S. dollars annually for homeowners to have an affordable and comfortable life in 2024. This can be compared to Houston, Texas, where homeowners needed an annual income of ****** U.S. dollars in 2024.

Finland was ranked the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report from 2025. The Nordic country scored 7.74 on a scale from 0 to 10. Two other Nordic countries, Denmark and Iceland, followed in second and third place, respectively. The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. Criticism The index has received criticism from different perspectives. Some argue that it is impossible to measure general happiness in a country. Others argue that the index places too much emphasis on material well-being as well as freedom from oppression. As a result, the Happy Planet Index was introduced, which takes life expectancy, experienced well-being, inequality of outcomes, and ecological footprint into account. Here, Costa Rica was ranked as the happiest country in the world. Afghanistan is the least happy country Nevertheless, most people agree that high levels of poverty, lack of access to food and water, as well as a prevalence of conflict are factors hindering public happiness. Hence, it comes as no surprise that Afghanistan was ranked as the least happy country in the world in 2024. The South Asian country is ridden by poverty and undernourishment, and topped the Global Terrorism Index in 2024.

Abstract

The objective of the survey was to produce baselines for 15 large urban centers in Kenya. The urban centers covered Nairobi, Mombasa, Naivasha, Nakuru, Malindi, Eldoret, Garissa, Embu, Kitui, Kericho, Thika, Kakamega, Kisumu, Machakos, and Nyeri. The survey covered the following issues: (a) household characteristics; (b) household economic profile; (c) housing, tenure, and rents; and (d) infrastructure services. The survey was undertaken to deepen understanding of the cities’ growth dynamics, and to identify specific challenges to quality of life for residents. The survey pays special attention to living conditions for residents of formal versus informal settlements, poor versus non-poor, and male and female headed households.

Analysis unit

Household Urban center

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The Kenya State of the Cities Baseline Survey is aimed to produce reliable estimates of key indicators related to demographic profile, infrastructure access and economic profile for each of the 15 towns and cities based on representative samples, including representative samples of households (HHs) residing in slum and non-slum areas. For this baseline household survey, NORC used a two- or three-stage stratified cluster sampling design within each of the 15 urban centers. Our first-stage sampling frame was based on the 2009 census frame of enumeration areas. For each of the 15 towns and cities, NORC received the sampling frame of EAs from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). In the first stage, NORC selected a sample of enumeration areas (PSUs). The second stage involved a random selection of households (SSUs) from each selected EA. In order to manage the field interviewing efficiently, we drew a fixed number of HHs from each selected EA, irrespective of EA size. The third stage arose in instances of very large EAs (EAs containing more than 200 households) in which EAs were divided into 2, 3 or 4 segments, from which one segment was selected randomly for household selection.

Stratification of Enumeration Areas: A few stratification factors were available for stratifying the EAs to help to achieve the survey objectives. As mentioned earlier, for this baseline survey we wanted to draw representative samples from slum and non-slum areas and also to include poor/non-poor households (HHs). For the 2009 census, depending on the location, KNBS divided the EAs into three categories: rural, urban, and peri-urban.

Although there is a clear distinction of EAs into slum and non-slum areas, it is hard to classify EAs into poor and non-poor categories. To guarantee enough representation of HHs living in slum and non-slum areas (also referred to as formal and informal areas) as well as HHs living below and above the poverty line, NORC stratified the first-stage sampling units (EAs) into strata, based on EA type (3 types) and settlement type (2 types). Given the resources available, we believe this stratification would serve our purpose as HHs living in slum and in rural areas tend to be poor. Table 1 in Appendix C of final Overview Report (provided under the Related Materials tab) presents the allocation of sampled EAs across the strata for each of the 15 cities in the baseline survey.

Sampling households is not as straightforward as the first-stage sampling of EAs, since the 2009 census frame of HHs does not exist. In the absence of a household sampling frame, NORC carried out a listing of HHs within each EA selected in the first stage. Trained listers, accompanied by local cluster guides (local residents with some form of authority in the EA), systematically listed all households in each selected EA, gathering the address, names of head of household and spouse, household description, latitude and longitude. To ensure completeness of listing data, avoid duplication and improve ease of locating households that were eventually selected for interview, listers enumerated households by chalking household identification number above the household doorway (an accepted practice for national surveys). The sampling frame of HHs produced from the listing activity was, therefore, up-to-date and included new formal and informal settlements that appeared after the 2009 census.

For adequate representativeness and to manage the interviewing task efficiently, NORC planned seven completed household interviews per EA. The final recommended sample size for the Kenya State of the Cities baseline survey is found in Table 2 in Appendix C of the final Overview Report.

Because the expected response rate was unknown prior to the start of the field period, the sampling team randomly selected ten households per enumeration area and distributed them to the interviewers working within the EA. Interviewing teams were instructed to complete at least seven interviews per EA from among the ten selected households. Interviewers were instructed to attempt at least three contacts with each selected household, approaching potential respondents on different days of the week and different times of day. Table 2 presents the final number of EAs listed per city and the final number of completed interviews per city. The table also presents the percent of planned EAs and interviews that were completed vs. planned. Please note that in several cities more interviews were completed than planned. As part of NORC's data quality plan, data collection teams were instructed to overshoot slightly the target of seven interviews per EA, if feasible, to mitigate any potential loss of cases due to poor quality or uncooperative respondents. Few cases were lost due to poor quality, therefore the target number of interviews remains over 100 percent in ten of the fifteen cities.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire was developed by World Bank staff with input from stakeholders in the Kenya Municipal Program and NORC researchers and survey methodologists. The base questionnaire for the project was a 2004 World Bank survey of Nairobi slums. However, an extended iterative review process led to many changes in the questionnaire. The final version that was used for programming provided under the Related Materials tab, and in Volume II of the Overview.

The questionnaire’s topical coverage is indicated by the titles of its nine modules: 1. Demographics and household composition 2. Security of housing, land and tenure 3. Housing and settlement profile 4. Economic profile 5. Infrastructure services 6. Health 7. Household enterprises7 8. Civil participation and respondent tracking

Response rate

The completion rate is reported as the number of households that successfully completed an interview over the total number of households selected for the EA. These are shown by city in Table 5 in Appendix C of the final Overview Report, and have an average rate of 68.66 percent, with variation from 66 to 74 percent (aside from Nairobi at 61.47 percent and Machakos at 56 percent). As described earlier, ten households were selected per EA if the EA contained more than 10 households. For EAs where fewer than ten households were selected for interviews, all households were selected. In some EAs, more than ten households were selected due to a central office error.

In 2024, Sudan was ranked as the most miserable country in the world, with a misery index score of 374.8. Argentina ranked second with an index score of 195.9. Quality of life around the worldThe misery index was created by the economist Arthur Okun in the 1960s. The index is calculated by adding the unemployment rate, the lending rate and the inflation rate minus percent change of GDP per capita. Another famous tool used for the comparison of development of countries around the world is the Human Development Index, which takes into account such factors as life expectancy at birth, literacy rate, education level and gross national income (GNI) per capita. Better economic conditions correlate with higher quality of life Economic conditions affect the life expectancy, which is much higher in the wealthiest regions. With a life expectancy of 85 years, Liechtenstein led the ranking of countries with the highest life expectancy in 2023. On the other hand, Nigeria was the country with the lowest life expectancy, where men were expected to live 55 years as of 2024. The Global Liveability Index ranks the quality of life in cities around the world, basing on political, social, economic and environmental aspects, such as personal safety and health, education and transport services and other public services. In 2024, Vienna was ranked as the city with the highest quality of life worldwide.

In 2023, Switzerland led the ranking of countries with the highest average wealth per adult, with approximately ******* U.S. dollars per person. Luxembourg was ranked second with an average wealth of around ******* U.S. dollars per adult, followed by Hong Kong SAR. However, the figures do not show the actual distribution of wealth. The Gini index shows wealth disparities in countries worldwide. Does wealth guarantee a longer life? As the old adage goes, “money can’t buy you happiness”, yet wealth and income are continuously correlated to the quality of life of individuals in different countries around the world. While greater levels of wealth may not guarantee a higher quality of life, it certainly increases an individual’s chances of having a longer one. Although they do not show the whole picture, life expectancy at birth is higher in the wealthier world regions. Does money bring happiness? A number of the world’s happiest nations also feature in the list of those countries for which average income was highest. Finland, however, which was the happiest country worldwide in 2022, is missing from the list of the top twenty countries with the highest wealth per adult. As such, the explanation for this may be the fact that the larger proportion of the population has access to a high income relative to global levels. Measures of quality of life Criticism of the use of income or wealth as a proxy for quality of life led to the creation of the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Although income is included within the index, it also has other factors taken into account, such as health and education. As such, the countries with the highest human development index can be correlated to those with the highest income levels. That said, none of the above measures seek to assess the physical and mental environmental impact of a high quality of life sourced through high incomes. The happy planet index demonstrates that the inclusion of experienced well-being and ecological footprint in place of income and other proxies for quality of life results in many of the world’s materially poorer nations being included in the happiest.

Out of all OECD countries, Cost Rica had the highest poverty rate as of 2022, at over 20 percent. The country with the second highest poverty rate was the United States, with 18 percent. On the other end of the scale, Czechia had the lowest poverty rate at 6.4 percent, followed by Denmark.

The significance of the OECD

The OECD, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, was founded in 1948 and is made up of 38 member countries. It seeks to improve the economic and social well-being of countries and their populations. The OECD looks at issues that impact people’s everyday lives and proposes policies that can help to improve the quality of life.

Poverty in the United States

In 2022, there were nearly 38 million people living below the poverty line in the U.S.. About one fourth of the Native American population lived in poverty in 2022, the most out of any ethnicity. In addition, the rate was higher among young women than young men. It is clear that poverty in the United States is a complex, multi-faceted issue that affects millions of people and is even more complex to solve.

In 2023, Norway ranked first with a health index score of 83, followed by Iceland and Sweden. The health index score is calculated by evaluating various indicators that assess the health of the population, and access to the services required to sustain good health, including health outcomes, health systems, sickness and risk factors, and mortality rates. The statistic shows the health and health systems ranking of European countries in 2023, by their health index score.

In the build up to the Second World War, the United States was the major power with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world. In 1938, the United States also had the highest overall GDP in the world, and by a significant margin, however differences in GDP per person were much smaller. Switzerland In terms of countries that played a notable economic role in the war, the neutral country of Switzerland had the highest GDP per capita in the world. A large part of this was due to the strength of Switzerland's financial system. Most major currencies abandoned the gold standard early in the Great Depression, however the Swiss Franc remained tied to it until late 1936. This meant that it was the most stable, freely convertible currency available as the world recovered from the Depression, and other major powers of the time sold large amounts of gold to Swiss banks in order to trade internationally. Switzerland was eventually surrounded on all sides by Axis territories and lived under the constant threat of invasion in the war's early years, however Swiss strategic military planning and economic leverage made an invasion potentially more expensive than it was worth. Switzerland maintained its neutrality throughout the war, trading with both sides, although its financial involvement in the Holocaust remains a point of controversy. Why look at GDP per capita? While overall GDP is a stronger indicator of a state's ability to fund its war effort, GDP per capita is more useful in giving context to a country's economic power in relation to its size and providing an insight into living standards and wealth distribution across societies. For example, Germany and the USSR had fairly similar GDPs in 1938, whereas Germany's per capita GDP was more than double that of the Soviet Union. Germany was much more industrialized and technologically advanced than the USSR, and its citizens generally had a greater quality of life. However these factors did not guarantee victory - the fact that the Soviet Union could better withstand the war of attrition and call upon its larger population to replenish its forces greatly contributed to its eventual victory over Germany in 1945.