Babies born in Australia luckier than Greece

Babies being born in Australia have higher opportunities of a “healthy, safe and prosperous life” than those born in Greece and Cyprus, a forecasting index has revealed.
The index, created by the Economist Intelligence Unit, has placed Australia second on the list as the best place to be born in 2013,
with Cyprus sitting at number 23 and Greece halfway down ranked 34.
“Its quality-of-life index links the results of subjective life-satisfaction surveys – how happy people say they are – to objective determinants of life across countries,” said Laza Kekic, the director of EIU’s country forecasting services, for The Economist.
The index – colloquially refered to as the “lottery of life” takes into account 11 different statistically significant factors, including national crime rates, trust in public institutions, geography, policies, and national economy. The forecasters look at the economic future of the countries in 2030, when babies born in 2013 will reach adulthood, including the estimated average salary.
Switzerland was ranked the luckiest country for a baby to be born with a score of 8.22 out of 10, and Australia scored 8.12 securing second place.
Apart from the Scandanavian countries, many European countries trailed behind in the list, with Kekic stating that this is due to the large debts the babies will inherit. The global financial crisis also played a role in the scores of European countries – not just on the financial ratings, as Kekic points out, but also “on unemployment and personal security … In doing so, it has eroded both family and community life”.

More: Neoskosmos.com