It's famed for cuckoo clocks, chocolate and posh watches but now Switzerland has been named as the best place in the world for quality of life by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The prosperity of those living in Switzerland is one of the main reasons why the country ranks so highly, although it was also commended for offering low crime rates, trust in public institutions, a high standard of healthcare and exceptional quality of family life. Australia was ranked second in the list, with Norway, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand and the Netherlands also scoring well in terms of health, safety and prosperity.
Countries suffering as a result of the eurozone crisis did not do so well, with Greece, Portugal and Spain lagging behind Asian countries and even the largest European economies of Germany, France and Britain not ranking highly. France came in 26th place, the UK was ranked 27th and Germany tied with the United States in 16th place.
"Both the present situation and the outlook are mixed from the point of view of the drivers of the quality of life. Despite the global economic crisis, times have in certain respects never been so good. Output growths rates have been declining across the world, but income levels are at historic highs in many countries despite the post 2008 recessions," cites the report.
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