单选题
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) earnestly attempts to measure which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead. Its quality-of-life index
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the results of subjective life-satisfaction surveys how happy people say they are—to
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determinants of the quality of life across countries. Being rich helps more than
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else, but it is not all that
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; things like crime, trust in public institutions and the health of family life matter too.
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, the index takes 11 statistically significant indicators into
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They are a mixed bunch: some are
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factors, Such as geography; others change only very slowly
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time; and some factors depend on policies and the state of the world
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.
Despite the global economic crisis, times have in certain respects
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been so good. Output growth rates have been
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across the world, but income levels are at or near
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highs. Life expectancy continues to
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steadily and political freedoms have spread across the
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. In other ways, however, the crisis has
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a deep imprint on unemployment and personal
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.
After crunching its numbers, the EIU has Switzerland comfortably in the top spot, with Australia second. Small economies
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the top ten, half of which are European. The Nordic countries shine,
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the crisis-ridden south of Europe (Greece, Portugal and Spain) lags behind. The
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European economies (Germany, France and Britain) do not do particularly well. America
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back in 16th place. Despite their economic dynamism, none of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) scores impressively. Among the 80 countries covered, Nigeria comes last: it is the worst place for a baby to enter the world in 2013.