'Ireland best place in the world to live'
Wednesday, 17 November 2004
Ireland has the highest quality of life in the world, ahead of the US, Britain and Switzerland. That is according to a new study carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The study, which examined quality of life indices in 111 countries, says Ireland is the best place to live in the world because it has low unemployment, political freedom and stable family life.
It adds the state has maintained a strong sense of social concern, as illustrated by the Special Olympics last year. Family breakdown, yobbishness and drunken violence are identified as social woes that affect Ireland much less than other developed countries.
The study also says divorce is on the rise and community involvement has declined, while health, climate and gender inequality fall below the rich-European average.
This puts us ahead of Switzerland in second place, with American in 13th and Britain back down in 29th place.
- Morning Ireland: John Murray asks people on the street for their views on the findings of the survey
- Morning Ireland: Dan O'Brien, Senior Editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit, discusses the findings of the survey of the Economist magazine
