# The World's Best Countries **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 19, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702 "2010-08-19T02:55:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/1 "2010-08-19T02:55:36Z")
An interesting compilation can be seen [here](http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/15/interactive-infographic-of-the-worlds-best-countries.html). And the #1 country in the world, regardless of what Aki Kaurismaki may think, is … Finland! 🆒 Thailand ranks 58th, just ahead of China and behind that paradise called Albania. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/2 "2010-08-19T03:04:05Z")
Further solidifies my plan to move to Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/3 "2010-08-19T03:59:27Z")
We’re trailing the Aussies?! This Canadian demands a recount. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/4 "2010-08-19T04:01:19Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > We’re trailing the Aussies?! This Canadian demands a recount. I thought you people only politely requested recounts? ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/5 "2010-08-19T04:08:25Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > We’re trailing the Aussies?! This Canadian demands a recount. Well get you unemployment down, increase your years in education, reduce time to start a new business, increase your life expectancy, reduce your homicides and you may have a chance! But you will always be behind the eightball with the USA so close to you!😃 Interesting that we have a very similair political environment, maybe because we are nice people. But I still fail to see how Finland beat Australia and I’m half Finnish. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/6 "2010-08-19T04:15:18Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > > [@Grey](#): > > > > We’re trailing the Aussies?! This Canadian demands a recount. > > I thought you people only politely requested recounts? Occasionally, but I mean they don’t even have the decency to have a decent snowfall. Look at the top 7 - all countries filled with people that know how to shovel a driveway. Except for _them_. bum bum bum! 🙂 **sisu** , should I guess that this will get trumpeted by both parties on the campaign trail? It would up here 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/7 "2010-08-19T04:18:36Z")
I thought it was rather interesting that Iran was in front of South Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/8 "2010-08-19T05:10:49Z")
We’re Number 7! We’re Number 7! WooT! That sounds just about right - good enough to be a great place to live, but not too high to make everyone want to move here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/9 "2010-08-19T05:27:06Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > We’re Number 7! We’re Number 7! WooT! > > That sounds just about right - good enough to be a great place to live, but not too high to make everyone want to move here. 🙂 Lol. That sounds so Canadian, eh? “We’re number 7! We’re number 7!”. 🙂 The funny thing is that, as a Canadian, I’m very happy to join in with the cheer. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/10 "2010-08-19T06:46:15Z")
Ah, this means there are only about 19 other countries to consider when I decide to leave my island home. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/11 "2010-08-19T07:10:32Z")
Hmm. Some of the methodologies seem a bit woolly. And the first metric I looked at gave Australia’s average years of schooling at 20.5 years, compared with the 13-16 years of most of the rest of the top 20 countries. A figure of 20.5 implies an additional 8 years after the completion of secondary education, which severely strains credibility. Fun to read, but I wouldn’t give much for the individual countries’ rankings, except in a very broad sense. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/12 "2010-08-19T07:24:35Z")
Hmm, time for an “Ask the Finnish guy” thread? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/13 "2010-08-19T10:48:29Z")
Sweden only got there due to ABBA, After our elections on Saturday Australia could drop a notch. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/14 "2010-08-19T11:50:30Z")
Talking of elections, I bet compulsory voting skewed their numbers in the “political participation” section ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/15 "2010-08-19T16:30:30Z")
I like the idea of compulsory voting - that seems like truly the least you should do for your country, show up and mark a ballot once every four years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/16 "2010-08-19T16:37:02Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I like the idea of compulsory voting - that seems like truly the least you should do for your country, show up and mark a ballot once every four years or so. And anybody who can leaves the country during elections I’ve been told. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/17 "2010-08-20T19:07:31Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Thailand ranks 58th, just ahead of China and behind that paradise called Albania. If you click Low Income Groups, Thailand ranks fourth, behind only Ukraine, Jordan and, again, Albania. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/18 "2010-08-20T19:56:11Z")
I’m surprised that Sweden is behind Finland. Let’s face it Finns, in D&D terms, Sweden is Finland +1. They got better food, better music, fashion sense, health care, Better capital (Stockholm is gorgeous). They’re more progressive and make better TV and films. They usually beat us at hockey. Their women are prettier. Sure, they all look like they came from the same mould, but it’s a pretty mould. They got beautiful ski resorts, on actual mountains! They got submarines! Frickin submarines! Let’s face it, Sweden is better. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/19 "2010-08-21T00:19:44Z")
I wonder who Burkina Faso will pick in next year’s draft. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/20 "2010-08-21T00:25:28Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > > > Thailand ranks 58th, just ahead of China and behind that paradise called Albania. > > If you click Low Income Groups, Thailand ranks fourth, behind only Ukraine, Jordan and, again, Albania. Thailand is #7 in terms of [biggest shadow economies](http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/07/0729_worlds_biggest_shadow_economy/1.htm). (Georgia is #1. The country, not the US state … I think!) > [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > I’m surprised that Sweden is behind Finland. Let’s face it Finns, in D&D terms, Sweden is Finland +1. They got better food, better music, fashion sense, health care, Better capital (Stockholm is gorgeous). They’re more progressive and make better TV and films. They usually beat us at hockey. Their women are prettier. Sure, they all look like they came from the same mould, but it’s a pretty mould. They got beautiful ski resorts, on actual mountains! They got submarines! Frickin submarines! > > Let’s face it, Sweden is better. Sweden has moldy women? 😕 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702.md?page=2)