# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![ColinZeal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@ColinZeal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColinZeal)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/21 "2010-08-21T01:55:19Z")
> [@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. Born in Finland, raised in Sweden by finns. Don´t know about the submarines but Sweden beats Finland. No doubt therer. ☹ But anyways, Sweden is on top and i´m about to move from here? WTH is wrong with this pic? :smack: ---
**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 21, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/22 "2010-08-21T02:31:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Thailand is #7 in terms of [biggest shadow economies](http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/07/0729_worlds_biggest_shadow_economy/1.htm). Measuring evaded taxes? What percentage of those were of a certain Lt. Colonel of Police? 😃 (And, BTW, regarding your link, surely I’m not the only one annoyed that a simple list requires one click-wait-view\_ads cycle for _every_ single list element.) ---
**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 21, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/23 "2010-08-21T02:41:49Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Sweden has moldy women? 😕 From [http://www.thefreedictionary.com](http://www.thefreedictionary.com) > [@](#): > > mould US, mold [məʊld] > n > > 1. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) a shaped cavity used to give a definite form to fluid or plastic material > 2. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Building) a frame on which something may be constructed > 3. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) something shaped in or made on a mould > 4. shape, form, design, or pattern > 5. specific nature, character, or type heroic mould ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/24 "2010-08-21T02:44:55Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > We’re Number 7! We’re Number 7! WooT! We’re coming for you, Canada! That is, if Wilders doesn’t manage to make a complete mess of the country in the next year and a half. ---
**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 21, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/25 "2010-08-21T03:57:06Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > > > We’re Number 7! We’re Number 7! WooT! > > We’re coming for you, Canada! > > That is, if Wilders doesn’t manage to make a complete mess of the country in the next year and a half. Bring it on, baby! We have bears guarding our grow ops - that should bump us up at least one level. ---
**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, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/26 "2010-08-21T13:22:49Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > (And, BTW, regarding your link, surely I’m not the only one annoyed that a simple list requires one click-wait-view\_ads cycle for _every_ single list element.) Yes, Bloomberg/Business Week probably could have designed that better. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/27 "2010-08-21T14:15:01Z")
This calls for a link to [this.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN2ZJBh92SM) ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/28 "2010-08-21T15:27:06Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > This calls for a link to [this.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN2ZJBh92SM) You mean [this?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf84AysXGTU) Or [this?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJj6d5QSYaE) ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/29 "2010-08-21T15:34:15Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I thought it was rather interesting that Iran was in front of South Africa. Thanks to our appalling health and education scores… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/30 "2010-08-21T15:44:14Z")
I hate lists like this. “Let’s pick a small number of arbitrary stats, mix them together in an arbitrary manner, and run with that.” In general I don’t think it will surprise anyone than Finland is a nicer place to live than North Korea, but this doesn’t in any way prove it’s a nicer place to live than Australia. I notice there’s no consideration of WEATHER. You can’t tell me that isn’t a factor in how nice a place is to live in. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/31 "2010-08-22T03:29:32Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I notice there’s no consideration of WEATHER. You can’t tell me that isn’t a factor in how nice a place is to live in. I’d like to see your proposition for determining the average weather of USA for example. Even in a smaller country like Finland there’s quite a big difference between the northmost tip and Åland - with bigger countries the idea that you can somehow assign a numerical value to the country’s weather gets completely absurd. Maybe if it was about the best cities of the world you’d be able to take it into account. Not to mention it is hard to get people to agree what is “good weather”. My ex-roomie started melting whenever temperature got over +18C, while the guy doing my work rounds during summer was wearing full winter kit in +22C with a beanie and double gloves in a work that requires constant physical activity. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/32 "2010-08-22T04:36:56Z")
Finland scored 102% on education, so that can’t include math(s). But wait - this list was put together by Newsweek, an American company, and Americans came 26th in education. ---
**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 22, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/33 "2010-08-22T05:24:07Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Finland scored 102% on education, so that can’t include math(s). But wait - this list was put together by Newsweek, an American company, and Americans came 26th in education. We’re purty good spellerz too. ---
**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 22, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/34 "2010-08-22T11:46:19Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > 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. The 20.5 years schooling is for all the Kiwis repeating Grade 1. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/35 "2010-08-22T11:52:52Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Finland scored 102% on education, so that can’t include math(s). But wait - this list was put together by Newsweek, an American company, and Americans came 26th in education. Keeping with the Canadians’ jubilation over placing 7th theme… we (Finns) noticed that too… and complained about it, demanding to be dropped to 2nd place. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/36 "2010-08-22T12:12:06Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > > [@Cunctator](#): > > > > 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. > > The 20.5 years schooling is for all the Kiwis repeating Grade 1. Oooh, burn 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/37 "2010-08-22T12:53:55Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > > [@Cunctator](#): > > > > 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. > > The 20.5 years schooling is for all the Kiwis repeating Grade 1. Oh ha ha! Kick us while we’re down why don’t you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/38 "2010-08-22T13:02:20Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > 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. It does sound like a lot, but it may depend on what counts as a year of education. If it includes part-time years, and vocational training, and retraining for older workers, you might come close to 20.5 years. Other countries might not use the same definitions of either “year” or “education”. ---
**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 22, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/39 "2010-08-22T13:04:35Z")
Now I wait for Si Blakely to turn up 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/40 "2010-08-22T22:37:42Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > > [@Cunctator](#): > > > > 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. > > It does sound like a lot, but it may depend on what counts as a year of education. If it includes part-time years, and vocational training, and retraining for older workers, you might come close to 20.5 years. Other countries might not use the same definitions of either “year” or “education”. Yes, that’s a reasonable explanation. But if so, then clearly there needs to be some sort of standardisation to allow for different countries’ definitions. Otherwise the whole survey becomes a joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702.md?page=3)