It's true. Life really is better Down Under.
At least, that's the conclusion reached by a new report, released this week by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), that named Canberra, Australia as the city with the highest quality of life in the world.
The report, which the OECD said was designed to provide policymakers with a map of the areas of the world that most need their help, examined a broad range of data -- including health, safety, housing, broadband Internet access, civic engagement, education, jobs, environment and income -- when coming to its conclusions.
Worldwide, the top five countries for quality of life were Australia, Norway, Canada, Sweden and the United States, in that order.
But the report also examined all 50 U.S. states using the same criteria and came up with some surpring findings. Let's start with the bad news: The southern U.S. is not looking good, accounting for all five of the lowest-rated states in the OECD's rankings (from 46th to 50th) -- Tennessee, West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi.
It's not all bad, of course. Many states faired extremely well in the report.
Click through the following pages for the top five U.S. states based on OECD's rankings (based on a top score of 90 points).
5. North Dakota
Well-being score: 72.4
4. Iowa
Well-being score: 72.9
3. Vermont
Well-being score: 74.8
2. Minnesota
Well-being score: 76.2
1. New Hampshire
Well-being score: 77.6
"New Hampshire's top position was bolstered by an extremely high safety rating of 9.2—a half point higher than any other state. The state tied Washington for first place on access to broadband, with 79% of households reporting access to high-speed internet."
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