Study Shows Canadians Have Better Life Than Most
May 28, 2013
oecd mgeu quality life index canada unionbug
A new study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has found that Canada is amongst the best places in the world to live.
In the study of rich industrialized nations, Canada was ranked amongst the leaders in most of the 24 indicators measured, everything from jobs and income to more subjective measures such as “life satisfaction.”
Although an overall ranking is not given by the OECD, if the indicators are added up and weighted equally, Canada comes in third place, trailing only Australia and Sweden. Canada’s high ranking comes about because it scores in the top ten in most of the major categories and above average overall among the 36 countries that were studied.
Canada ranked first in a few of the more minor categories, including “best housed” (an average of 2.6 rooms per person) and Canadians are among the safest, reporting the fewest assaults. Canada was also in the top ten in terms of household disposable income, wealth, educational attainment, and self-reported health. Canada also did well in terms of work-life balance. And, perhaps surprisingly, Canadians tend to trust their government more than most other countries.
However, Canada didn’t do well on some other measures. It’s 81-year life expectancy was in the middle of the pack. Our participation in voting was also in the lower part of the pack, with an average of only 61 percent compared to the OECD average of 72 percent.
The authors of the report also pointed out that despite its high average income level, Canada also has a high level of income disparity. Canada also got a below average score on job security.
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