The countries with the best and worst quality of life

When the world stopped

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

In 2020, when we were all locked up in our homes due to Covid-19, many wondered how the world would ever get back on its feet after the prolonged freeze on economic activity.

The fallout

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

According to the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI), which measures life expectancy, education and income across 193 countries, a significant proportion of the globe is still reeling from the fallout.

An unsurprising fact

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

As noted by the Economist, rich countries have managed to pull back most successfully, while many developing countries are still languishing in the doldrums.

Full recovery for some

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

According to the HDI, released this May, 97% of wealthy nations are either back to the scores they hit just before the pandemic or have gone beyond them.

Iceland as top scorer

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

At the top of the UN’s HDI is Iceland, followed by Norway and Switzerland which manage the same scores.

The top 10

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

Completing the top 10 success stories are Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Hong Kong and the Netherlands, which are on an equal footing, and Belgium at number 10.

The UK, US and Canada

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

Britain managed 13th place and Canada 16th while the US and New Zealand make joint 17th. Superpower China is rated number 78.

The fate of poorer countries

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

Meanwhile, 60% of these countries’ poorer counterparts have struggled to get back to pre-pandemic stands of living, with certain regions of sub-Saharan Africa scoring the lowest; ranked are Somalia (192) and South Sudan (193).

The slowest to bounce back

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

However, it is Latin American and Arabic countries whose post-pandemic recovery has been slowest. In the Middle East, this may be due to political instability (Iraq, Yemen and Syria), according to the Atlantic Council.

A complex scenario in Latin America

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

Regarding South America, post-pandemic economic recovery lagged behind other middle income countries due to interest rates flat-lining and rising commodity prices as well as trade barriers, according to the Marketplace news site.

South Sudan at rock bottom

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

Within Sub-Saharan Africa, South Sudan has the lowest life expectancy at birth at 58, and an average of only six years of education for its citizens, compared to 18.9 in Iceland. Suth Sudan’s GDP per capita is a mere $688.

A widening gap

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

Another shocking statistic is that extreme poverty levels are the same as in 2015, with the index score gap between rich and poor widening over the past four years.

Differences within the US

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

As the Economist points out, the study does not differentiate between the living standards of the rich and poor within the same country, so the fact that rich Americans live much longer than poor ones is not flagged up.

Twin index

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

Another index measuring living standards around the world is the Human Progress Index (HPI) by CEOWORLD magazine, which throws political stability and opportunities into the mix.

Switzerland beats Iceland

When the world stopped, The fallout, An unsurprising fact, Full recovery for some, Iceland as top scorer, The top 10, The UK, US and Canada, The fate of poorer countries, The slowest to bounce back, A complex scenario in Latin America, South Sudan at rock bottom, A widening gap, Differences within the US, Twin index, Switzerland beats Iceland

According to the HPI, Switzerland scores the best quality of life, followed by Norway and Iceland, then Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Also squeezing into the top 10 are Ireland, Singapore and Australia.

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