Britain has good quality of life study finds

Harry Wallop

But statistics suggest that the quality of life in Britain is far higher than average, with Britons happier, healthier, working shorter hours and earning more than citizens in most other developed nations.

The study, undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a club of the world's 34 richest countries, has attempted to rank all of its members on different scales for 11 key categories, such as health, crime, education, housing, governance.

The index reported that Britain "performs very well in overall wellbeing", ranking among the top countries for wealth, environment, good governance and community spirit.

But it highlights black spots like child poverty — where progress has "stalled" and figures are predicted to increase — and obesity, where the UK has the highest rates in Europe.

If all the eleven measures are given an equal weighting Britain comes 13th out of 34, behind Australia, Canada and Sweden as the best places to live.

On the broadest and most subjective measure of life satisfaction — consumers being asked if they were happy — Britain ranked 15th out of 34. Denmark was happiest, followed by Canada, Norway and Switzerland.

The study will give some reassurance to Britons, who have lived through the worst recession since the 1930s, its first hung parliament since the 1970s and high and rising costs of living. And only last month the Lonely Planet, the tourist guide book, described Britain as celebrity-obsessed with a "dicey" economy and an addiction to junk food.

Various studies have suggested that families are financially significantly worse off now than before the start of the financial crisis in 2008, because though prices — for food, utility bills, filling up a car — have risen substantially, the average worker's wage has only edged up very slightly, with many losing their jobs altogether. The CEBR, a think tank, calculated that the average family was £910 worse off than they were in 2009.

However, for many the recession would appear to be a blip, in what has otherwise been a continuous increase in the standard of living in Britain, including a stable sense of community.

Numbers of Britons saying they are satisfied with their lives have risen over the past decade to 68 per cent — compared with an OECD average of 59 per cent — with 79 per cent believing that their lives will be satisfying in five years' time.

Nearly all — 95 per cent of people — said they knew of someone they could rely on in a time of need, higher than the OECD average of 91 per cent, with the the organisation describing Britain has having "a strong sense of community".

Nearly 59 per cent of Britons reported having helped a stranger within the past month, also higher than the OECD average.

Britain was ranked fifth — behind Luxembourg, the USA, Switzerland and Belgium — when it came to wealth, with an average household disposable income of £16,758 a year, compared with the average of £13,725.

That income resulted from fewer hours of work, with Britons putting in an average of 31 hours and 39 minutes a week — compared to the OECD average of 33 hours 26 mins a week.

The two areas where Britain performed relatively poorly was health, coming 17th out of 34, with only average life expectancy and obesity a particular problem. Government figures have indicated that more than 190 people aged under 65 died as a direct result of their obesity in 2009 — compared to just 88 in 2000. Deaths among those aged between 46 and 55 almost tripled.

Switzerland and Australia were the healthiest countries.

And Britons are worse educated than many other OECD countries, ranked 24th out of 34, with 70 per cent of adults aged 25 to 64 having earned the equivalent of a high school diploma, below the OECD average of 73 per cent. When it comes to reading ability Britain also does relatively poorly, behind Estonia, Poland and Ireland.

Despite the high levels abuse directed at Parliamentarians and local authorities, following the MPs expenses scandal and councils cutting local services, two-thirds of people in Britain said they trusted their political institutions, compared to an OECD average of 56 per cent. Telegraph