Quality of Life in Canada is #1 in the World

A study conducted by U.S. News in partnership Y&R’s BAV and Wharton ranked Canada as the #2 best country in the world and #1 in terms of quality of life. The study ranked 80 countries based on 65 country attributes that can be used to describe a country as well as attributes that are relevant to the success of a modern nation. To simplify the equation, each of the 65 attributes was grouped into 9 subcategories that included:

• Adventure (3.24%): friendly, fun, pleasant climate, scenic, sexy
• Citizenship (16.95%): cares about human rights, cares about the environment, gender equality, progressive, religious freedom, respects property rights, trustworthy, well-distributed political power
• Cultural Influence (12.93%): culturally significant in terms of entertainment, fashionable, happy, has an influential culture, modern, prestigious, trendy
• Entrepreneurship (17.42%): connected to the rest of the world, educated population, entrepreneurial, innovative, provides easy access to capital, skilled labor force, technological expertise, transparent business practices, well-developed infrastructure, well-developed legal framework
• Heritage (3.17%): culturally accessible, has a rich history, has great food, many cultural attractions
• Movers (10.00%): different, distinctive, dynamic, unique
• Open for Business (11.99%): bureaucratic, cheap manufacturing costs, corrupt, favorable tax environment, transparent government practices
• Power (7.42%): a leader, economically influential, politically influential, strong international alliances, strong military
• Quality of Life (16.89%): a good job market, affordable, economically stable, family friendly, income equality, politically stable, safe, well-developed public education system, well-developed public health system

With 16.89%, Quality of Life is the third highest contributor to the rankings. It trails only Entrepreneurship (17.42%) and Citizenship (16.95%) where Canada ranked 7th and 4th, respectively. In the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last year, Canada was also the #1 country in terms of Quality of Life. Joining Canada in the top 5 for Quality of Life this year are Sweden, Denmark, Australia, and Norway.

You can see how Canada performed in each of the subcategories and attributes in the rankings below:

Canada is known worldwide for the friendliness of its people and the supportiveness of its government which officially solidified its reputation. The release of the rankings could not be more timely for Canada since it is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its confederation this year. We can expect to see more changes for the better in the country as the current government still has a lot of proposed reforms to improve the quality of life in Canada. Congratulations, Canada!