Denmark is the No. 1 country for quality of life—Canada and New Zealand also made the top 10 list

U.S. News and World Report recently released its ranking of the best countries in the world based on quality of life.

To rank the 89 countries listed, U.S. News and World Report, global marketing and communication services company WPP and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania surveyed nearly 17,000 people worldwide from March 22 to May 23, 2024.

The best countries for quality of life were scored across the following metrics:

• Affordable
• Good job market
• Economically stable
• Family-friendly
• Income equality
• Politically stable
• Safe
• Well-developed public education system
• Well-developed public health system

One country noticeably missing from the top 10 is the United States. It ranked No. 22 in terms of the best countries for quality of life, but it did have the highest ranking ever in U.S. News and World Report’s overall ranking of the best countries in 2024 at No. 3.

The United States ranked poorly in the metrics used to rank the best countries for quality of life — No. 57 for affordability and No. 49 for countries seen as not bureaucratic, Elliot Davis, reporter at U.S. News and World Report, tells CNBC Make It.

“They did do fairly well when it comes to a good job market in the 13th spot,” Davis says. “In terms of perceptions, they aren’t seen as providing just quite as good a quality of life for its people as other countries.”

Denmark rose from the No. 4 spot in 2023 to No. 1 on this year’s ranking.

Denmark — along with Sweden and Norway — is part of the cultural region of northern Europe known as Scandinavia.

“Denmark is a country that generally performs well in the sub-rankings in areas like education, healthcare, political stability, economic stability, and more,” Davis says. “Denmark is seen as a place that provides for its citizens very well and provides a high quality of life for its residents.”

Though people in Denmark pay some of the world’s highest taxes — up to half of their income — this is balanced out by the fact that most healthcare in the country is free, childcare is subsidized, university students pay no tuition and receive grants to help cover expenses while studying, and the elderly receive pensions and are provided with care helpers.

Denmark also ranked as the No. 1 country where expats are most satisfied with their jobs, career opportunities, work-life balance and more, according to a July 2024 Expat Insider survey from InterNations, the online global community for people who’ve moved aboard.

Some 84% of expats in Denmark are satisfied with their work-life balance, compared to a global average of 60%.

In this year’s World Happiness Report, Denmark also ranked as the No. 2 happiest country globally. The country’s high ranking is due in part to its level of equality and sense of responsibility for social welfare, according to the country’s official website. These are two things that are closely linked to happiness, according to the World Happiness Report.

1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Switzerland
4. Norway
5. Canada
6. Finland
7. Germany
8. Australia
9. Netherlands
10. New Zealand

Sweden fell from the top spot to rank second in the world for quality of life this year.

Similar to Denmark, Sweden offers residents free healthcare and college education. The country’s people boast one of the longest life expectancies, with an average age of 82.8 years, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Davis says that though Sweden fell in the rankings this year, it performed well in other categories. It ranked No. 2 for caring about human rights and the environment. The only downside is that similar to Denmark, the country ranks towards the bottom for affordability.

Sweden also offers a unique parental leave policy. Parents are entitled to 480 days of paid leave when a child is born or adopted, and if there are two parents, each one is entitled to 240 of those days.

The cost of living in Sweden is on average, 9.4% lower than in the United States, while renting is 47.5% lower, according to Numbeo.

Davis also highlighted that Sweden is one of the four countries in the Nordic region that ranked in the top 10 of this year’s list.

“The region is perceived as providing a high quality of life for their people,” he says.

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