Australia named 'happiest' developed nation again

London: Australia has been ranked as the world's happiest nation among developed economies for third year in a row, with a whopping 84 per cent of the country's population saying they are satisfied with their lives. The overall strength of its economy won Australia the top position in the Better Life Index compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), BBC News reported.

"Australia performs exceptionally well in measures of well-being, as shown by the fact that it ranks among the top countries in a large number of topics in the Better Life Index," the OECD said.

The OECD Better Life Index compares the well-being of more than 30 countries based on categories including housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance.

According to the report, more than 73 per cent of Australia's 23 million people aged 15 to 64 hold a paid job, which is above the OECD average. The average household net-adjusted disposable income is 28,884 USD a year, more than the OECD average of 23,047 USD a year.

However, the report found a considerable gap between the richest and poorest in Australia - the top 20 per cent of the population earn six times as much as the bottom 20 per cent. In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in the country is almost 82 years, two years higher than the OECD average of 80 years.

Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and high levels of civic participation in Australia, where 94 per cent of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, higher than the OECD average of 90 per cent.

In general, Australians are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, with 84 per cent of people saying they have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc). Other countries that ranked among the top ten on the Better Life Index include Sweden, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, US, Denmark, The Netherlands, Iceland and UK.