Ranked: The Top 30 Countries by Quality of Life

Ranked: The Top 30 Countries by Quality of Life

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The Numbeo Quality of Life Index aggregates survey data from people around the world to gain insight into how they perceive life in their country.

To see how these perceptions have changed over time, we’ve visualized the 30 countries with the best quality of life in 2015 and 2025. The comparison reveals a number of significant movements up and down the ranking, with Canada losing the most ground.

Data & Discussion

The data for this visualization comes from Numbeo, which compiles user-reported data on eight factors:

• Purchasing Power
• Pollution
• House Price to Income Ratio
• Cost of Living
• Safety
• Health Care
• Traffic Commute Time
• Climate

Each country’s quality of life score is calculated based on these factors, with higher scores representing better overall conditions.

Rank (2015)	Country	Quality of Life Index (2015)	Rank (2025)	Country	Quality of Life Index (2025)
1	Switzerland	222.9	1	Luxembourg	218.2
2	Germany	195.9	2	Netherlands	216.5
3	Sweden	193.9	3	Denmark	215.1
4	U.S.	192.5	4	Oman	215.1
5	Finland	190.2	5	Switzerland	210.9
6	Denmark	190.2	6	Finland	208.3
7	Austria	182.6	7	Norway	199.2
8	Australia	180.8	8	Iceland	198.0
9	Canada	177.6	9	Austria	197.7
10	New Zealand	175.5	10	Germany	195.2
11	Norway	175.1	11	Australia	195.1
12	Saudi Arabia	169.4	12	New Zealand	194.7
13	Japan	168.3	13	Sweden	192.2
14	Netherlands	166.8	14	U.S.	192.1
15	Turkmenistan	157.1	15	Estonia	189.8
16	UK	156.9	16	Qatar	189.4
17	Cyprus	154.9	17	Japan	188.8
18	UAE	153.7	18	Spain	187.2
19	Ireland	148.9	19	Slovenia	182.4
20	Qatar	144.9	20	Croatia	181.7
21	Estonia	144.6	21	Lithuania	178.8
22	France	139.3	22	UK	177.2
23	Belgium	136	23	Czech Republic	176.3
24	Spain	134.9	24	UAE	174.2
25	Slovenia	134.5	25	Saudi Arabia	173.7
26	Portugal	129.2	26	Belgium	173.7
27	Czech Republic	127.5	27	Canada	170.5
28	Puerto Rico	125.7	28	Ireland	169.6
29	Kuwait	123.4	29	France	169.5
30	Israel	120.4	30	Israel	169.5

Europe Boasts High Quality of Life

European countries topped the ranking in both 2015 and 2025, perhaps a reflection of the region’s strong social welfare systems, safety, and infrastructure. The Netherlands stands out, climbing 12 places since 2015.

Not all European countries have maintained their ranking, though, with Sweden falling 10 places (3rd to 13th).

Sweden, once regarded as one of Europe’s safest countries, has seen an alarming rise in organized-crime networks. It’s estimated that 62,000 individuals are connected to these networks, primarily dealing in drugs, human smuggling, and money laundering.

Canada’s Declining Living Standards

Canada has fallen the most spots over the time period, from 9th to 27th.

Housing affordability is one of the most pressing issues in the country, as real house prices rise much faster than incomes. According to a 2024 survey by Statistics Canada, 45% of Canadians are “very concerned” about their ability to afford housing.

Another challenge is healthcare, where the median wait time between a referral from a doctor (general practitioner) and the receipt of treatment is 30 weeks. According to the Fraser Institute, this is 222% longer than the 9.3 week timeline observed in 1993.

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• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-top-30-countries-by-quality-of-life/