Iceland best place to live, Africa worst, says UN

by Rob Peters | November 27, 2007 at 01:24 pm | 1704 views | 6 comments

None of these rankings are too shocking I reckon. Yay Canada for being in the top five!

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Iceland has overtaken Norway as the world's most desirable country to live in, according to an annual U.N. table published on Tuesday that again puts AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states at the bottom.

Rich free-market countries dominate the top places, with Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland the first five but the United States slipping to 12th place from eighth last year in the U.N. Human Development Index.

But the index, blending 2005 figures for life expectancy, educational levels and real per capita income, finds that all 22 countries falling into its "low human development" category are in sub-Saharan Africa, with Sierra Leone last.

In 10 of these countries, two children in five will not reach the age of 40, said the compilers at the U.N. Development Program. Last year's report said HIV/AIDS had had a "catastrophic effect" on life expectancy in the region.

The index ranks 175 U.N. member countries plus Hong Kong and the Palestinian territories. It does not include 17 countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, because of inadequate data.

Norway had held top spot for six years but was edged into second place by Iceland this year because of new life expectancy estimates and updated figures for gross domestic product, or GDP, the report said.

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René

at 23:13 on November 27th, 2007

Iceland nice until the volcanoes erupt.

"'An eruption beneath a thick glacier often leads to a hazardous
glacial flood that can begin within minutes to several hours after the
eruption has started,'' Dr. Roberts said.

Floods after a
volanic eruption are a mixture of water, ash, mud and ice; they tend
to leave the surrounding countryside covered in ash.

Records
from floods in the 1800's indicate that icebergs of Titanic proportions
were seen drifting near farmhouses. And one flood is thought to have
heaved ice blocks for miles. Geologists are still uncovering this ice,
which was buried by so much insulating debris that it is still there
more than 150 years later.

In 1996, an eruption beneath the
Vatnajokull ice cap, Europe's largest ice mass, led to a jokulhlaup
that forced sediment, meltwater and ice out along the 12-mile stretch
of the glacier's edge. The flow of water out of the glacier created a
river to rival the Amazon in size, at least for a few minutes. It
demolished a bridge and added almost three square miles to the area of
Iceland. (The flood did not reach nearby settlements, and no one was
killed or injured.)"

Glaciers on top of Iceland volcanoes

PEP

at 23:28 on November 27th, 2007

good stuff:

Rob Peters,good stuff! Should we pack our long johns for the move to Iceland? ;}

jmburnz

at 07:25 on November 28th, 2007

Sure, if you like living in the dark for 6 month a year, love snow and ice (and I mean LOVE), and dont mind paying 10 bucks for a glass of beer - then go live in Iceland! Frankly, give me Australia or New Zealand any day of the week:)

Mikasi

at 08:04 on April 18th, 2008

I live in the US. I'm in the dark most of the time. :)

.kristian

at 08:34 on November 28th, 2007

good stuff:

Good stuff! Yes, Iceland is good stuff - and I know, cause I went there this weekend. Coming home yesterday I was greeted with the news that my dear old Norway had lost her pole position in the race for perfectionism - surprisingly enough the beer price didnt drop accordingly. But seriously, I guess this kind of dethronement is all for the better. Norwegians in general seem to think they are on top of the world in every aspect, so this gives us the opportunity to cool down for a second or two:)

alpieman

at 17:04 on December 1st, 2007

That must be a joke. Today Iceland is -8 degrees centigrades and Toronto is -10 degrees. Living in those countries can't be called life, it is prisonment between 4 walls and a roof.. very thick ones..

Here I am still in shorts and wearing my tshirt in Turkey Mediterranean coast. IMHO parts of Australia (lived in before) and Italy (visited before) are #1 places to live. Northern Europe (lived & visited before) is a misery. South California (been there) gets good marks as well despite the ocean.

But I don't see any problem issuing such reports just to make Northern people a bit happy and forget the misery for a few seconds. Keep up the good work and earn lots of lots of money, so you can afford your heating bills, thick clothes, and go for a holiday if you can afford giving a break! Cheers!