The Guardian, UK
Nov 18 2004
Ireland leads world for quality of life
UK comes 29th in global happiness survey
by Owen Bowcott
Ireland is easily the best country in the world to inhabit, according
to a quality of life survey which relegates the United Kingdom to a
second-division ranking.
The ambitious attempt to compare happiness around the world is based
on the principle that wealth is not the only measure of human
satisfaction.
The index of 111 states, produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit
and released yesterday, combines data on incomes, health,
unemployment, climate, political stability, job security, gender
equality as well as what the magazine calls “freedom, family and
community life”.
Displayed on a notional scale of one to 10, rain-washed Ireland
emerges with a gleaming top score of 8.33, well ahead of second-place
Switzerland which manages 8.07. The UK languishes in 29th place on
6.92, narrowly in front of South Korea (6.88). Zimbabwe, racked by
political insecurity and hunger, is rated the gloomiest, picking up
only 3.89 points.
The figures may be reminiscent of a global version of the Eurovision
Song Contest, but the intention behind the study – to find the best
country to live in during 2005 – is serious as well as competitive.
“Although rising incomes and expanded individual choices are highly
valued,” the report says, “some of the factors associated with
modernisation – such as the breakdown of traditional institutions and
the erosion of family values – in part offset its positive impact.
“Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable
elements of the new (the fourth highest gross domestic product per
head in the world in 2005, low unemployment, political liberties)
with the preservation of certain cosy elements of the old, such as
stable family and community life.”
Ireland’s lifestyle victory represents rapid promotion for a country
which until the 1990s suffered from large scale emigration of
citizens in search of work abroad. Membership of the EU has, however,
transformed its prospects. Ireland’s GDP per person – a standard,
comparative economic measure – overtook the UK’s GDP several years
ago: Ireland’s is now $36,790 (£19,800) compared to $31,150 in the
UK. The UK’s reputation in Europe also takes a beating. The UK ranked
the lowest out of the 15 members of the pre-enlargement EU, chiefly
due to the high social and family breakdown recorded in official
statistics.
Our other large European partners like France and Germany, occupying
25th and 26th position respectively, fared little better. But smaller
states, including Sweden, Italy, Denmark and Spain, all appeared in
the top 10. The US, which has the second highest GDP after diminutive
Luxembourg, slipped to 13th place in the survey. Other big economies
did even worse. China was in the lower half of the league at 60th
while Russia, where GDP is only $9,810, scraped in towards the bottom
on 105th.
“The results of the surveys have been attracting growing interest in
recent years,” the magazine says. “… It has long been accepted that
material well-being alone does not adequately measure quality of
life. Money matters, of course, but surveys suggest that over the
decades big increases in income have translated into only a modest
rise in satisfaction.”
The Economist’s complex equations used to produce the table gave most
weight to matters of health, well-being, political stability and
security. Less importance was attached to climate, job security,
political freedom and gender equality. The Economist’s survey,
published as The World in 2005, is in its 17th year.
Other organisations have tried to draw up comparative tables based
simply on more subjective surveys about happiness. The results do not
reflect the Economist’s priorities. The New Scientist magazine last
year published a survey which ranked Nigeria as having the highest
percentage of people who said they were happy, followed by Mexico and
Venezuela. The citizens of Russia, Armenia and Romania were the most
miserable.
Ireland
First there was a national outcry that a basket of bread, milk and
vegetables cost more in Dublin than anywhere else in the eurozone.
Then the president issued a plea last week for post-Celtic Tiger
Ireland to return to community values. So the Irish were baffled to
wake up yesterday as the world’s most envied country.
Ireland tops the survey because the 90s boom brought affluence and
preserved Eamon de Valera’s vision of a strong community.
Ireland is the fourth richest country in the world based on per
capita income. But a UN report has warned of the gap between rich and
poor.
Father Harry Bohan, who runs Céifin, an organisation examining
values, said after a series of tribunals into government corruption
and the church’s soul-searching, Ireland was now “seeking a new
spirituality”.
Angelique Chrisafis
Zimbabwe
Widespread food shortages. An HIV/Aids infection rate of more than
25%. Inflation of 200%. Unemployment of 70%. No political freedom.
State torture.
Life is tough for most Zimbabweans. Very tough.
Yet just a few years ago the country was admired as one of the
sparkling jewels in Africa’s crown, blessed with natural resources,
well-educated people, stability and freedom.
But Robert Mugabe, 80, is so determined to keep his grip on power
that he has destroyed these qualities.
Repressive laws have closed three newspapers. Public meetings of more
than three people are banned without prior police approval. And the
Youth Militia, blamed for hundreds of acts of torture, rape, beatings
and theft, is to be increased.
But no one can ruin Zimbabwe’s delicious sub-tropical climate, its
sunny days and invigorating air.
Andrew Meldrum