Best and Worst Places to Live

The Mail & Guardian online recently posted an article naming Norway as the best place to live or in their words, 'the most desirable country". Now Norway certainly isn't one of the cheapest places to live but it brings home he reality of 'cheap' not necessarily be 'good' or even 'desirable' for that matter.

The ranking was actually based on UN data which just got released last Monday. The UN report went on to label 'sub-saharan African states' as the worst places to live due to war and HIV/aids.

Notes of interest -

• Life expectancy in Norway is 8o years vs 50 for Niger.
• The ratio of $ per person earned in Norway vs Niger was 85 to 1.
• Japan boasts the longest life span at 82.7 years compared to just 43.6 years in Afganistan.
• Liechtenstein has a GDP of more than $85,000 per capita even though it only has a populaiton of 35,000.
• Norway, Australia and Iceland have the best standard of living in the world.
• Niger, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone have the worst. 

It doesn't talk specifically about the Cheapest Places to Live but I image some of those poor countries would be pretty low.