The “Best” Country

 
 
 

Vocabulary

rank	once again	in a row (2)
steep	challenge	standard of living
obtain	based on	life expectancy
slip	per capita	conclusion
overall	stress (2)	gross national income
means	round out	end up with
index	gross (2)	administration
urgent	launch (2)	according to
tackle	descent	livelihood
provide	draw (2)

 
 
 
 
 

Norway

Norway has done it once again.

For the 12th year in a row, the Scandinavian country has been ranked number one in the world in term of health and living standard, according to a 2015 United Nations’ Human Development Report.

The HDI

UN researchers drew their conclusions based on the Human Development Index (HDI).

In use since 1990, the HDI measures countries in three basic areas — life expectancy, education, and income and standard of living.

The Top Five

Norway achieved high marks in all areas to obtain an overall score of 0.944. Its life expectancy at birth is 81.6 years, while its gross national income (GNI) per capita is $64,992.

Rounding out the top five are: Australia (0.935), Switzerland (0.930), Denmark (0.923) and the Netherlands (0.922).

Economic Development

The report stressed that “Economic growth is a means to that process; but not an end-goal by itself.”

In this manner, two countries could have the same level of Gross National Income per capita — yet still end up with different human development indices.

Drop in HDI

Over the years, most countries have increased their HDI. But some had seen a decrease.

The countries with the steepest drops are Libya, which slipped 27 places and Syria, which fell 15 places.

Meanwhile, the bottom five countries are Niger (0.348), Central African Republic (0.350), Eritrea (0.391), Chad (0.392) and Burundi (0.400).

The Challenge

“This new global Human Development Report is an urgent call to tackle one of the world’s great development challenges — providing enough decent work and livelihoods for all,” said Helen Clark, United Nations Development Program Administrator, during the launch of this year’s report.
 
 
Human Development Index top 20
 
1. Norway
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
4. Denmark
5. Netherlands
6. Germany
6. Ireland
8. United States
9. Canada
9. New Zealand
11. Singapore
12. Hong Kong, China (SAR)
13. Liechtenstein
14. Sweden
14. United Kingdom
16. Iceland
17. South Korea
18. Israel
19. Luxembourg
20. Japan

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

 
 

Questions

1. Everyone was surprised that Norway came on top of the world’s Human Development Index (HDI). Is this true or false?

2. What were the criteria to determine the rankings?

3. The most important factor is economic development. Is this correct or wrong?

4. Are all countries increasing their HDI?

5. According to the UN Development Program Administrator, what should be the main goal or aim?

6. What can be said about the “best” countries to live in?

7. Characterize those with the lowest HDI scores.

 

A. Where does (or do you think) your country ranks on the HDI?

B. What are some areas for improvement?

C. I would like to live in Norway (or Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark). Yes or no? Would you like your country to be more like Norway?

D. How can countries improve their HDI (health, education, income and living standard)?

E. HDIs are mostly influenced by climate, geography, culture, religion; and not government policy. What do you think?

F. What will happen in the future?