UN study finds Australia one of the top places to live

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It’s no surprise to those of us who live here, but Australia is the second best place to live in the world according to a new United Nations study comparing factors like health, education, life expectancy and per-capita income.

UN study finds Australia one of the top places to live

It’s no surprise to those of us who live here, but Australia has just been named the second best place to live in the world.

Well, if there is a surprise, it’s that we’re not number one.

UN puts Australia in the top

In the past week the United Nations has released its annual Human Development Index – a comparison of 187 countries around the world based on health, education, life expectancy and per-capita income.
We were only just pipped at the post by Norway and, frankly, we like to argue the weather is better in Australia so in reality, we took top honours.

The Lucky Country

But let’s have a look at why Australia always does so well in these kinds of studies.
The ABC’s coverage of the index quoted leading Australian economist Saul Eslake, who said our success was down to several factors.

“Overall, the combination of per-capita income, which has done well in Australia compared with other countries more seriously affected by the financial crisis, long life expectancy and reasonable levels of educational attainment have been enough to lift us into second place on this scale – in fact we've been there for a few years now,” he told the broadcaster.

Interestingly, both Australia and Norway are riding high on wealth created by the resources and energy sectors. A lot of Norway’s income comes from oil.

Australians wealthiest people in the world

If you’re wondering, income and gender equality were the areas that allowed Norway to trump us. But funnily enough a few days after the UN’s report came out, the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2011 ranked Australians as the wealthiest people in the world.

Confused? Don’t be. It all adds up to good news for those living in Australia or looking to migrate to Australia for work. And Australia does have tens of thousands of jobs in the mining sector coming on stream over the next few years – so there is plenty of work on offer.

Living and working in Australia

If you have experience in the mining, oil or gas industries and fancy living in the second best place to live in the world (and in the sunshine), then check out Living and Working in Australia section in our Careers and Industry Guide. It’s filled with information on how to emigrate to Australia, advice on how to find work in Australia and daily life in “the lucky country”.

What do you think; is Australia the best place to live and work?