Sunday 25 November 2012

Singapore world's 6th best country to be born in: Economist Intelligence Unit index 2013

Hong Kong also in top 10 list compiled by London-based unit
By Pearl Lee, The Straits Times, 24 Nov 2012

SINGAPORE is the world's sixth best country to be born in, a survey has found.

It is one of two places in Asia to make it to the top 10 of the Where To Be Born index, compiled by the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. The other is Hong Kong, in 10th spot. EIU analyst Susan Evans said in a statement both cities are known for their "wealth, stability and relatively low levels of corruption".

Singapore is ahead of New Zealand, the Netherlands, Canada and Hong Kong, but behind Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which took the top five places respectively.

The index is calculated by linking life satisfaction scores, measured on a scale of one to 10, to determinants of an individual's quality of life, such as material well-being measured by GDP per head, life expectancy at birth and quality of family life based mainly on factors such as divorce rates.

Calling the results "not unexpected", sociologist Paulin Straughan said: "Deep in our hearts, we know, and we appreciate, that Singapore is a safe and stable country."

She hopes the index will remind Singaporeans not to dismiss the achievements of the country.

The index is published in The World In 2013, on trends and predictions for the year ahead.

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