Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan ranks 139th in the world on the quality of life, the influential International Living magazine has claimed.
The country was granted 51 points in a rating of 194 countries in the 2010
Quality of Life Index drawn up by the journal. The assessment is based on the following nine categories: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate. The rating on each category was compiled based on a 100-point scale. The organization used a number of sources, including government websites, the World Health Organization, and The Economist.
For the fifth year running, France topped the annual rating, with 82 points. Its tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world's best health care. Two-hour lunch breaks in inexpensive restaraunts and the best wine in the world are part of France’s enviable traditions. The Riviera beaches, ski resorts in the Alps, the Seine landscape, the bohemian Montmartre, the antique streets, and outdoor markets are among the country’s attractions as well. Paris offers the best of everything, but services don't fall away in Alsace's wine villages. Provincial French properties are often keenly priced and lifestyles are less expensive than Paris.
Australia came second, with 81 points, followed by Switzerland and Germany. New Zealand ranked fifth, with 79 points. All these countries were granted top scores on Freedom and Safety and Risk.
The United States has been downgraded to the seventh from the third ranking due to the economic crisis. The prospect of attaining the American dream is slipping away from the increasing number of people in the U.S., the group said. The researchers noted, however, that the U.S. stands out for picturesque nature and is the land of convenience. They pointed out that living in this country is safe and can even be affordable, and it's hard to beat the day-to-day ease of life enjoyed by people in the U.S.
Britain ranked 25th in the rating. The researchers argued that Britons work too much and have fewer days-off than their neighbors to the south of the British Channel.
Among the former Soviet republics, the Baltic states were granted higher scores among others. Lithuania ranked 22nd, Estonia 32nd and Latvia 40th.
Lithuania gained the maximum points on Freedom and Safety and Risk.
Moldova scored the highest among CIS states – 55th, with 65 points. Georgia ranked 98th, with 56 points, while Armenia – 101st, also with 56 points; Belarus stood 109th, with 54 points, while Russia 111th, with 54 points. Tajikistan was rated 134th and Kyrgyzstan 138th.
Azerbaijan, which ranked 139th, surpassed only Uzbekistan (148th), Kazakhstan (155th) and Turkmenistan (162nd) among the former Soviet states.
Azerbaijan scored the highest on Environment – 71 points. It received 64 points on Safety and Risk, 62 points on Climate, 60 points on Culture, 50 points on Economy, and 48 points on the Cost of Living. The South Caucasus republic was granted 40 points each on Health and Infrastructure. The country scored the lowest number of points on Freedom – 25 points. On this indicator, Azerbaijan ranked 162nd among 194 countries.
Moldova and Georgia scored 50 points on Freedom, while Russia and Kyrgyzstan – 42 points, and Armenia 33 points.*