Is it better to go to school in the U.S. or Australia? What country has the best job market? What citizens are the healthiest or happiest?
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has created a new interactive index to measure the well-being of 34 OECD-member countries that extends beyond GDP, including housing, jobs, community, income, education, environment, government, health, safety, life satisfaction and work-life balance.
The index was created to determine how countries are progressing in the wake of the Great Global Recession, says OECD spokesperson, Romina Boarini. The OECD wanted to take a broad measure of each nation’s health, because “well-being is about people’s life and whether they have good living standards,” she says, “but it’s also about other important capacities like freedom and opportunities, which have no price and market.”
The U.S. scored well only when it came to income and, ironically, housing, but ranked seventh overall, well behind Australia and Canada, which ranked first and second respectively. The index found that the U.S. ranked low on work-life balance and safety, and in the middle range for health, environment and jobs. Here’s how we stacked up in all 11 categories:
Housing – U.S. Ranks 4
Best: Canada
Worst: Turkey
The U.S. ranked well in this category thanks to high levels of home ownership – 67 percent of homes in the U.S. are occupied by the owners, which matches average rate for OECD countries (though only 23 out of 34 countries were measured). Overcrowded living conditions can also lower a country’s rank, and Americans have fairly spacious abodes, with an average 2.3 rooms per person, compared to the OECD average of 1.6 rooms per person. The lowest-ranking country in housing, Turkey, has 0.7 rooms per person.
Income – U.S. Ranks 2
Best: Luxembourg
Worst: Chile
The index looks at disposable income — the amount of money that a household earns each year after taxes. The U.S. ranked 2nd with an average household disposable income of $37,690, behind Luxembourg. The average for OECD countries is $22,284. The index also considered household wealth, which includes assets, though the information was only available for a small number of OECD countries. The average household wealth in the U.S. was $98,440, nearly three times the OECD average ($36,808).
Jobs – U.S. Ranks 18
Best: Norway
Worst: Turkey
Although the U.S. has an above-average number of working-age Americans employed in the job market (67 percent vs. the OECD average of 65 percent), high long-term unemployment hurt the U.S. – 2.85 percent of the U.S. labor force has been unemployed for a year or longer, lower than the OECD average and worse even than Mexico.
Community – U.S. Ranks 20
Best: Iceland
Worst: Turkey
For community, the OECD asked such questions as “do you know someone you could rely on in a time of need? Have you helped a stranger in the last month? How often do you spend time with friends, colleagues or others in social settings?” Americans did okay in all categories — 92 percent said they could rely on someone, and 66 percent said they’ve helped a stranger, and 3 percent said they rarely or never spend time with friends, one of the lowest figures for the OECD countries. But when ranked against countries like Iceland and Ireland where 98 percent and 97 percent, respectively, said they could rely on someone, the U.S. landed in the middle. Even Spokesperson Boarini admits this category is subjective and difficult to measure.
Education – U.S. Ranks 6
Best: Canada, Korea and Finland
Worst: Mexico
Education is very difficult to measure across borders due to widely differing systems among OECD countries, but the index looked at how many adults have earned a high school degree or the equivalent (89 percent of adults ages 25-64 in the U.S.; the average is 73 percent), as well as reading literacy. The average 15-year-old American student scored 500 out of 600 on the literacy test, just above the OECD average of 493.
Environment – U.S. Ranks 18
Best: Sweden
Worst: Chile
The title for this category is a bit misleading, given that air quality was the only indicator used for this category, in which the U.S. was only slightly above the OECD average.
Governance – U.S. Ranks 3
Best: Australia
Worst: Israel
The U.S. ranked high: 58 percent of people in the U.S. say they trust their political institutions (the average is 56 percent), and due to freedom of information laws, there is significant transparency.
Health – U.S. Ranks 16
Best: Switzerland
Worst: Slovak Republic
The U.S. is ranked 16 out of 34, but the U.K., a country with a national health system, ranked only at 17. Canada, which also has national health care, ranked 3rd. High obesity rates hurt the U.S. – 33.8 percent of U.S. adults are considered obese, the highest rate among OECD countries. The U.K. has the highest obesity rate in Europe. Also, life expectancy in the U.S. is 77.9 years, is lower than the OECD average of 79 years. Despite these factors, 88 percent of Americans are reported to be in good health, well above the OECD average of 69 percent.
Life Satisfaction – U.S. Ranks 13
Best: Denmark
Worst: Hungary
The OECD concedes that this category is highly subjective: They asked questions like, “Are you satisfied with your life at present,” and “Do you believe your life will be satisfying five years from now?” The Netherlands, Denmark and Finland all ranked the highest with 85 percent saying they’re currently satisfied, and the U.S. came in 13th with 70 percent. Another indicator was whether participants reported having positive experiences in an average day – in the U.S., 76 percent said they did, compared with the OECD average of 72 percent.
Safety – U.S. Ranks 29
Best: Japan
Worst: Mexico
Out of all 11 categories, the U.S. ranked the worst in crime safety. Japan ranked first, though the data was collected in 2005. Though only 2 percent of Americans reported being assaulted over the past 12 months and only 19 percent said they feel unsafe on the street after dark (lower than the OECD average of 26 percent) the U.S. had a high homicide rate of 5.2 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the worst in the OECD.
Work-Life Balance – U.S. Ranks 23
Best: Denmark
Worst: Turkey
Work-life balance was another category where the U.S. did poorly. Americans work more hours than most countries in the OECD – 1,768 hours a year versus the average of 1,739. Though they work longer, Americans devote an average amount of time (compared to other OECD countries) to personal care like eating and sleeping, and leisure – 63 percent of their day or 15.1 hours. Another indicator was the employment rate for mothers, which shows that women choose to balance work and child rearing versus staying home (though many have no choice). In the U.S., 73 percent of mothers are employed after their children begin school (the OECD average is 66 percent).
Related Links:
USA comes up a bit short in global Better Life Index (USA Today)
Parents Are Losing Faith in the American Dream (The Fiscal Times)
