What’s The Best Country To Live in?

For the past 70 years, most governments have relied on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to determine the best country to live in. GDP is the total monetary value of everything a country produces and sells on the market. GDP per capita, which is just the total GDP divided by the number of people living in that country, is widely seen as a measure of well-being. However, GDP doesn’t take into account the distribution of wealth or the value of services that aren’t sold on the market. Although higher GDP has correlated to higher quality of life for many countries, wages have not kept pace with GDP growth and most of the benefits have gone to a small percentage of the population. Alternatives to GDP include Gross National Happiness, United Nations’ Human Development Index, and Sustainable Development Index. These metrics factor in elements such as health, education, living standards, and the environment. However, boiling the quality of life in a country down to a single number has limitations and experts now favor a dashboard approach that lays out all factors.