While it may not be entirely unexpected, when Spain ranks 20th in the OECD Better Life Index, you know things at home aren’t looking so good. After all, when countries like the United States and the United Kingdom rank better than Spain, (the US with all that gun violence? The UK with all that rain?) there has to be something wrong.
Then again, it’s probably no wonder Spain ranks 20th in the OECD index as, let’s face it, when 27.2 percent of the population of the country is unemployed that’s where many of the troubles lie.
According to the OECD Better Life Index, Spain came in 20th out of a total of 36 countries due to a number of factors. Employment, or labour, was of course a place where the country ranked badly, along with income and education. Only 53 percent of Spaniards have graduated high school which is actually quite shocking, and is more than 20 percent under the OECD average.
But, the good news is Spain did well in health — not surprising as Spaniards are the world’s second longest living people behind the Japanese.
The country also did quite well when looking at a good work-life balance, as Spaniards tend to spend as much time playing or relaxing and with friends and family as they possibly can. That alone is also a good indicator of how healthy a population just might be.
Throw in clean water and a strong community spirit and, in some respects, Spain is still doing better than most.
Me? I don’t care what the OECD Better Life Index says about Spain. I’d still prefer to live there than just about any other country in the world, and I’m not even Spanish.