What are your thoughts on the latest NATO rankings of the best countries to live in?

One needs to really understand the criteria used by the UN to actually have a full comprehension of these rankings.

Note that there are NO emotions involved! Because if you ask me, Canada should be #1 or 2, if you ask my girlfriend (who is American) she'd say USA or Sweden.

I lived in Canada, Europe and USA and I am not surprised to see these results. Although the score difference between these top 10 countries is really just 0.01 which is very marginal.

Great countries all together really, powerful currencies, lots of freedoms and opportunities for success; everything you could think of is available. My point is, there was not a single day when I woke up and I wondered if food would be unavailable, or water lacking, or if I was sick there would be no doctor for the next 500km or a militia and lawless people would be running down the streets.

For those who live in N.America or W. Europe, just imagine yourself living right now in say central Africa, or North Korea where a BigMac is a luxury meal, and being able to shower once a week is a privilege! How would you feel?

As long as we're top 10, I am content and thankful that my society is one of the best.

You mean UN. Yes, the rankings are for the most part accurate. I have lived in Europe, Canada and I am currently living in Chile. I would say that for the top 20 to 25 it is fairly close, all are developed industrialized countries and the differences lie in personal perception of what is considered good vs not so good. For Chile 38 is quite respectable, and Chile has been around the 30 to 38 mark for quite some time. Hence the High Human Development should be broken into two parts, the top 25, and the next 25 for there is a definitive line very few countries can cross.

NATO and the UN are two entirely different groups. If you mean the UN ranking of Canada as #6, it is hard to say without first at least visiting Norway, Iceland, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, Japan and the United States. Personaly, I have only visited the States and lived in Canada. I am saddened that we have slipped from being #1 from 1992 to 2001, but if we are happy with who we are....who really cares!

Quite frankly I don't think the United States should even be listed on the top ten or the top anything. They're the largest producers of pollution on the planet and their so-called "freedom and democracy" is nothing but garbage! They're building walls to surround themselves off from their neighbours, how friendly is that??? Secondly with Guantanamo Bay glaring at us like an open wound for all to see...And as for Iceland!? They hunt whales! Whales are becoming endangered species!! Norway and Japan are the same...how can anyone live in either place with that happening-I ask you! As for Australia with its callous responses to the needs of the Aborigines, it's enough to make you cry. Ireland doesn't escape either as far as I'm concerned. Lets not forget that there have been attacks on minorities in cities that I thought were "multicultural" like Dublin and not just in "multicultural" cities, but everywhere else. Of course the issues they face in Australia and Ireland are not isolated to those two countries. Canada has the exact same problems. I'm in complete disagreement with the U.N.'s rankings of countries. And NATO can hardly be credible now on anything they come up with after they have been murdering Afghanis in cold blood!!! I don't know how they or the U.N. have the gall to come up with this puerile.

The lack of co-relation between "best place to live" vs. "Happiest Place to live" baffles me. A recent LSE study revealed:

Bangladesh is the happiest nation in the world, according to a recent study report of the World Happiness Survey. The United States, on the other hand, is a sad story, which has been ranked only 46th in the list of happiness.

India is the fifth happiest place in the world, with some other countries including Ghana and Latvia, Croatia and Estonia put in the same ranking. The study led by professors of London School of Economics on the link between personal spending power and the perceived quality of life conclusively proved that money can buy everything but happiness.

What do you chose , "Quality of Life" or "Happiness"!!

This is a moronic question. It is like asking who you like better your mother or father. If you have never lived in a country how can you choose which is the best.

Secondly, the total population of the top five are only 7 million people more that Canada and about 99million fewer that Japan and 260million fewer that the US. How hard can it be to manage a few million people. The more people a county has the harder it is to get everyone to play nice.

Lastly, with land masses for four of the top five that would fit into most provinces and states the challenge to supply what citizens needs is pretty simple. Even Australia only uses a small percentage of the land mass for people.

Lets ask a more relevant question like, Who has the best hockey team in the world. The answer of course in CANADA!!!!!!!!

I am was not happy about some countries like israel is in the list rank #23 when that country is constantly in war,people are living the country because of war.How this country could rank #23 in world?Another country they doesn't has a war ,they rank lower than Israel.Please if some body can tell me How the UN rank the countries?

As an Australian living in Canada, I certainly preferred Australia for its common-sense, ease of administration and direct communication. Canada has a lot to learn about not being so anal. But, the water shortages and lack of fertile ground in Oz are a concern that Canada does not have. These extremely important environmental factors are not considered, leaving the ranking severely skewed.

This is seen again by having Japan, US and Ireland in the top 10. The US is a country driven on fear and control whilst its leaders focus all their energy on war. Ireland is similar in many ways. As for Japan, their social pressures and resultant suicide rates, lack of integration with nature, dense population in a tiny space and bombardment of technology makes it one of the last places I would want to live. Social harmony and the integration of the envirnment for healthy ecosystems should definitely be considered in these ratings. Without peace and nature, we can't live any way.

I'm sure the study isn't perfect, but to me it makes sense that Norway is on top. I am a Canadian who has lived in Norway before and so I have seen first hand how great their systems are, especially their social programs which even make Canada's programs look much less than perfect. But I'm sure that being a small country rich with oil also helps. In any case, Canada should still be proud to be at #6.

As a Canadian who has lived abroad since 1999 (Mexico, Switzerland and Ireland), I can say that No. 6 is not that big of a deal. I do take HUGE exception to Ireland even being in the top 10, however. I have lived here for a few years and their social supports are ridiculously awful, especially for the elderly and mentally challenged; equality of the sexes - forget about that, women's rights and children's rights are not that important here and I regularly see small children begging on the streets. Honestly. It is not a good place to live unless you are loaded - the healthcare system is a shambles, etc., etc.