Outsider countries. Washington has lined up rogue countries for democratization. The poorest countries in the world

World rankings allow us to objectively judge the place of each of the 200 countries of the world according to one of the criteria of global development. The rating of economic freedoms, according to its compilers - and the American Heritage Foundation, allows us to assess the potential of the economic development trend of each of the countries of the world: what opportunities and freedoms these states open up for their entrepreneurs and what, accordingly, the trend of the future economy of these countries is being laid this year, explained analysts from the Forex Academy and exchange trading Masterforex-V. What is the future of the CIS countries according to American experts?

The Heritage Foundation's rating is based on a whole set of indicators in the field of economics and finance. Thus, when compiling this list, experts from the USA took into account:
. Convenient conditions created by the state for opening and developing your own business.
. How open the state is to other countries in terms of trade.
. What are the conditions for taxation of the private sector of the economy.
. Is the state attractive to investors from abroad?
. How developed is the country's labor market and what is its unemployment rate?
. How are private property rights protected in the state?
. What is the level of corruption of officials in a particular state.

In total, the ranking analyzes the degree of economic openness in 179 countries of the world. The leaders of the Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings are:
1. Hong Kong;
2. ;
3. Australia;
4. New Zealand;
5. ;
6. ;
7. ;
8. Denmark;
9. ;
10. Bahrain.

Heritage Foundation: what place in the ranking is given to the CIS countries?

Experts from the Masterforex-V exchange trading academy decided to analyze what places the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States occupy in the Heritage Foundation ranking?

1. Turkmenistan. According to American economists, the most difficult situation of all the CIS countries is the situation with the openness of the economy in Turkmenistan (169). Despite the fact that the country's long-time leader Niyazov has died, there are no significant changes in the country - the economy continues to be under total control by the state.
2. Ukraine. Surprisingly, Turkmenistan is followed by Ukraine (164), which ranks last in Europe in terms of economic openness. Heritage Foundation analysts attribute such a low rating of the country’s economy to two factors:
. an increase in government spending, which means a clear increase in the role of the state in the economy;
. corruption.
3. . Following Ukraine is Uzbekistan (163rd place). This country is under serious pressure on business circles and the over-inflated public sector of the economy.
4. . The Republic of Belarus took second to last place in Europe and 155th place in the world. Despite the declared course aimed at creating a more liberal economic model, the country still has many shortcomings:
. the public sector still forms the basis of the economy;
. there is practically no protection of private property in the country
. an overinflated state apparatus leads to excessive bureaucratization and creates conditions for corruption;
. finally, the country's judicial system depends almost entirely on the executive authorities.
5. Russia. As for the Russian Federation, it is only in 143rd place. Having not moved at all over the past year, it remained close to the group of countries with so-called “repressive” economies. Such a low rating of the Russian economy, according to economist Yaroslav Kabakov, is associated with the following negative phenomena:
. An increase in the number of officials and a still very high level of corruption;
. The real sector of the economy is still 50% owned by the state. And some areas of activity are completely monopolized. There can be no talk of any equality of opportunity
. The country's tax system needs to be reformed; the state has decided to cope with its social function by increasing taxes;
. And, according to the expert, there are serious problems in Russia with private property. It is the uncertainty about the future that largely holds back the potential of Russian business.
6. Tajikistan. The country, despite all its colossal economic problems (corruption of officials, dominance of crime in power, high level of organized crime) took 128th place, ahead of all the Slavic states of the CIS.
7. . The Republic of Moldova is in 120th place. As we can see, despite all the efforts of official Chisinau to please the West, experts consider them insufficient. Apparently, this is due to the outright poverty of the country’s economy, which cannot decide on its main trading partners. According to the head of the faculty medium-term trading and GOST patterns of Evgeniy Olegovich Antipenko (ATEI), living in Chisinau, such a low place in the fund’s ranking was influenced by the following factors:
. corruption;
. external factors are increasingly influencing the internal development of Moldova;
. further development and improvement of the financial and tax system is not ensured;
. the role of the Government and the National Bank of Moldova remains at a low level;
. banks maintain reserves only in accounts with the NBM;
. an extremely bloated bureaucracy;
. There is not sufficient liquidity in the banking services sector.
8. . Ranked 92nd. There is a lot of talk about this country now. Many experts believe that the EU and the US even managed to wrest it from Russian influence. However, all the characteristic features of the Eastern mentality: fatalism, faith in a strong state and a strong leader, are present in this economy. Also analysts community of Azerbaijan Masterforex-V exchange trading academy names the following factors:
. limited opportunities to open new credit lines for the country's banks for core banking activities;
. business activity is inactive due to limited financial resources, cessation or reduction in the activities of individual production, commercial structures and enterprises;
. certain financial projects have been frozen and it is unrealistic to predict them in the near future and, as a result, the loss of permanent (real) jobs;
. unresolved social problems of Azerbaijan;
. reduction of government investment programs;
. significant injections of funds by the state to maintain the exchange rate of the country’s national currency.
9. . Kyrgyzstan has climbed quite high (in comparison with other neighbors in the CIS). The poorest country in the Commonwealth took 83rd place in the ranking. Let us note that it was Bishkek that was the first in the post-Soviet space to successfully complete the procedure for joining the WTO, and this already indicates a certain openness of the economic model.
10. . The top three is completed by Kazakhstan, which many experts consider to be perhaps the potential leader in economic development among all Commonwealth countries. His 78th place is explained by the rather bold steps of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who, unlike many post-Soviet leaders, manages to delicately balance between the interests of the great powers.
11. . Armenia took second place among the CIS countries and 36th place in the world. This is due to the fact that the Armenian economy was initially in great need of outside help, and was thus quite open to international investment.
12. . The highest place in the ranking of all post-Soviet republics was taken by Georgia, which is ranked 29th in the world. Everything is clear here - the West has long supported Mikhail Saakavili, who is really trying to liberalize the economy according to the Western European model.

This, like other ratings in the world, is a subjective view of the objective reality of our world through the eyes of US analysts. It should be noted, experts from the Masterforex-V Academy note, that when compiling it:
* the criteria, the synthesis of which produced the published material, are not clear;
* the closed nature of these criteria for “economic freedoms” inevitably causes skepticism and accusations against the compilers of the rating that this is the fruit of stereotypes in the attitude of American scientists and US authorities towards other countries of the world.

To be objective, analysts from the Exchange Leader magazine, together with experts from the Masterforex-V exchange trading academy, are conducting a survey: do you think the Heritage Foundation rating is objective for understanding the future of different countries of the world?
* yes, generally objective and has a serious impact on investors in the world;
* no, this is a purely political rating of Washington’s sympathy for the governments of other countries in the world.

The presence of a significant dependence of the socio-economic development of Russian cities on the size of the population living in them led to the consideration of the ranking results for groups of cities with different populations. For a more balanced interpretation of the results, the SD rating was calculated for four groups of cities, identified by population (I – millionaire cities, II – from 500 thousand to 1 million people, III – from 250 thousand to 500 thousand people, IV – from 100 thousand to 250 thousand people), table. 2. According to the integral index of sustainable development, the leaders of the ranking with a significant advantage are millionaire cities, and the lowest indicators are small cities with a population of up to 250 thousand people. The greatest differences between them by groups of indicators are observed in the level of economic development (27%) and social infrastructure (33%), there is a significant gap in the level of development of urban infrastructure (23%). The differences between groups of cities in terms of environmental and demographic indicators are not so significant (13% and 14%, respectively).

The differences in the results obtained in terms of the level of economic development between groups of cities in the Russian Federation are a direct consequence of the effects of agglomeration and concentration, the concentration of all resources in large cities. The largest cities attract the bulk of investments; effective demand is concentrated in them, industrial production is developed, wages are high, budgets are well funded, etc. Medium and small cities, less attractive for business and the population, are slowing down their development relative to large ones. This explains the presence of a pronounced gradient in the level of economic development from the fourth group of cities to the first.

The relatively high level of economic development, the status of a regional center, the concentration of educational and health care institutions of regional importance, as well as high budgetary security determine the leadership of millionaire cities in terms of the level of development of social infrastructure. The lagging position of small towns is due to their lower financial capabilities for reforming social infrastructure, as well as partly due to the optimization of networks of medical institutions and the declining level of development of vocational and general education.

The best positions of millionaire cities in a group of indicators characterizing the state of urban infrastructure are due, firstly, to higher rates of construction and renovation of the housing stock, and a greater degree of livability of housing. Secondly, in large cities there are large centralized heat supply systems, public transport is developed (especially in million-plus cities due to electric transport and the metro), etc.

The migration attractiveness of large cities, the young age structure of their population and, as a consequence, higher rates of natural growth determine the leading positions of millionaire cities. Large cities—regional centers from group II—find themselves in a similar situation. Medium-sized and small cities are less attractive to the population, have insignificant migration growth or even outflow of the population and have a high demographic load with a population structure biased towards older ages.

The results of the environmental indicators block are naturally better for small cities that do not have large enterprises with a high level of environmental impact, as well as for the largest cities in the country, which, as a rule, have significantly diversified the structure of their industry and abandoned environmentally unsafe and inefficient production. The relatively low positions of cities in group II and, to a lesser extent, group III are due to the presence in them of large heavy industry and energy enterprises with low environmental efficiency of production.

The leaders among millionaire cities are the largest Russian megacities (Moscow and St. Petersburg), as well as the cities of the Volga region and the Urals (Table 3). The cities of Siberia and the south of the European part of Russia were outsiders. The low positions of Voronezh, Volgograd and Krasnoyarsk are mainly due to the low environmental efficiency of production and the relatively low quality of the urban environment, which is partly explained by the recent expansion of the borders of these cities at the expense of adjacent rural areas with a low level of improvement.

Table 3. Leading and outsider cities by population groups

*Average ISD score for a group of cities, calculated taking into account their population size.

In the second group of cities, the leaders are Krasnodar and Tyumen, which are actively growing and attracting a significant flow of interregional migration, as well as regional centers of the European part of Russia, which pay close attention to the development of social infrastructure. The outsiders, in turn, are the largest cities in southern Siberia with significant environmental problems and low quality of public infrastructure and Makhachkala, which is characterized by a low level of economic development, the state of infrastructure and the efficiency of water consumption.

In group III, the leaders are predominantly regional centers located in Central Russia, as well as one of the main centers of the oil industry in Western Siberia, Nizhnevartovsk, and Murmansk, which is characterized by a generally high quality of housing stock and urban infrastructure. Most cities in this group are characterized by the absence of heavy industry and a relatively favorable environmental situation. The lowest value of IUR is observed in the cities of Eastern Siberia, where the lack of gasification has a detrimental effect on the environmental situation, as well as in cities in the south of the European part of the country with low water consumption efficiency and backward municipal infrastructure.

In group IV, the leadership of cities in the near Moscow region is noticeable, actively attracting investment and population due to their favorable geographical location, as well as successful oil and gas cities of Western Siberia. The outsiders in this category and rating are the old industrial cities of the Urals and Kuzbass with a difficult demographic situation and serious economic problems. The worst situation is in single-industry towns, where the main industrial enterprises have been experiencing problems in recent years.

Figure 1. Ten best cities in ISD with a population of over 100 thousand people

Figure 2. Ten worst cities in terms of ISD with a population of over 100 thousand people

Identification of the rating leaders by federal district (Table 4) may be of interest to city residents planning to change their place of residence. Based on the results of the rating, it is possible to identify the most developed and balanced cities of different sizes (large or medium), suitable for the specific life strategies of potential migrants.

In Fig. 3 on the map shows all the results of the city rating. In addition to the values ​​for the cities themselves, we can see the balance of regions in terms of the cities’ IUR - this will be discussed in more detail below.

Or, as they are commonly called, developing territories are a clear confirmation of the economic principle “80%-20%”. Only here is the ratio of the population to the world population. With 80% of the world's population, they produce and consume 20% of the world's GDP. Today, China opens the list of developing countries. According to Bloomberg (the largest provider of financial information in the world), China's GDP growth over the next four years will be 46%. Such expansion will provide the Chinese economy with almost global dominance. To our chagrin, Russia ranks 9th on the Bloomberg list.

Who falls into this category?

The indicators by which states are included in the list of developing countries are GDP growth, the ratio of public debt to GDP, inflation, and the “ease of doing business” category coefficient. So, doing business according to this version in the Russian Federation is 21 points more difficult than in China. And this despite the fact that China's coefficient is very high.

Imperfect world

So what are these developing countries of the world, the list of which is constantly growing? These are states in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, characterized by an agrarian-raw materials economy and a rather poorly developed manufacturing industry, rapid population growth, and a low level of education. But such a definition would be more suitable to the pre-perestroika picture of a bipolar world. Now the list of developing countries includes all the republics of the former socialist camp, South Korea, and Russia. The good news is that we are in the top twenty of them.

Heterogeneity of the list of third world countries

Today, the list of which is opened by the most developed countries of Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina) and Asia (South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong) can be divided into five groups.

The standard of living, its quality, the effectiveness of environmental policy, the average level of wages - there are a lot of indicators on the basis of which ratings of countries around the world are compiled. Which of them most accurately characterize the level of well-being of the population? How objective are these ratings? What are the subtleties of their compilation? What ratings should someone who is thinking about changing their place of residence pay especially close attention to? Which countries are the richest and poorest in the world? The answers to all these questions are of great interest to a potential emigrant.

Standard of living: what is it?

The standard of living is a multidimensional indicator that reflects how satisfied the population of a certain country is with the mass of goods and services that are available for consumption and use. Determining the indicator is not easy - to do this, scientists study a number of factors. Thus, the standard of living is a broader concept than the level of income of the population, which reflects only the material component, or the level of happiness, which characterizes the attitude of the country’s residents.

What criteria are used to assess the standard of living of the population?

The main factor determining a country's position in the ranking in terms of living standards is the level of real income of the population. Different authors take as a basis GDP or GNI per capita, the size of the minimum subsistence level. At the same time, the methodology involves taking into account not only the material component, but also assessing other areas of life:

• life expectancy;
• opportunity to get an education;
• population literacy level;
• accessibility and quality of medical services;
• living conditions;
• provision of social benefits;
• unemployment rate;
• poverty ratio (the ratio of the richest 10% to the poorest 10% of citizens);
• degree of discrimination;
• security, etc.

The standard of living includes several evaluation criteria, in particular, the Gini coefficient, which shows the degree of stratification of society by income level

Rating of countries in the world by standard of living

There are several methodologies for determining the standard of living of the population, but the generally accepted one is that used by the United Nations. Scientists from the UN carry out such analytical work every year and publish a ranking of countries in the world by standard of living in the so-called human development report. When compiling it, the authors evaluate a wide range of criteria, ranging from the level of income of the population to gender discrimination in the world of work. You can view the full text of the 2015 report in Russian. The results of 2019 are as follows: the leader of the ranking is Norway, and the world outsider is the Central African Republic, located in the center of the African continent.

Countries with the highest standard of living are indicated in dark green.

Russia's position

In total, there are 188 countries in the ranking. Russia ranks 44th on this list. It must be said that despite all the crisis trends, our country managed to improve its position - in 2018 it only occupied 50th place. Russia's fairly good position in the ranking is largely due to the high quality of education in the country. Freedom of enterprise and the level of security, on the contrary, are not at their best.

Table: list of leading and outsider countries in terms of living standards according to UN estimates

Characteristics of countries with the highest standard of living

Traditionally, the TOP includes the countries of Scandinavia, Western Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand. What factors ensured their high positions?

Norway

What is attractive about living in a country that has successfully maintained its leading position for 5 years?

• there are some of the lowest housing prices in all of Europe;
• a developed system of social guarantees, in particular good unemployment benefits. But only taxpayers can claim it;
• quality medicine and good ecology.

Norway is a country with the highest salaries, impressive taxes and beautiful nature

Norway is the leader in the ranking of countries in the world in terms of living standards. But this does not mean that everyone here is rich, employed and fully enjoys material benefits. Remember that the ranking even takes into account indicators such as the rule of law, the level of development of democracy, or the number of people with higher education per share of the population, so a high position does not mean overall well-being.

Video: life in Norway - dispelling the main stereotypes

Australia

Australia's undoubted advantage is its warm and comfortable climate. In addition, migrants are attracted by:

• high level of employment (unemployment rate about 5%);
• unlimited opportunities for active recreation;
• After 4 years of legal residence in Australia, a foreigner can expect to receive citizenship.

Australia has the highest minimum hourly wage

The sun here is very cruel and dangerous. To avoid getting skin cancer, you need to regularly apply cream and it is advisable not to be in the midday sun.

IMJULI_AU

http://imjuli-au.livejournal.com/80103.html

Switzerland is also a traditional member of the TOP Five. This position is due to its status as the world's largest financial center. However, it should be notedthat all benefits can only be enjoyed by residents of the country. Migrants will have to face discrimination in employment for highly qualified positions and the extremely high cost of living here. At the same time, Switzerland is an extremely calm country. Many wealthy citizens come here, tired of the daily bustle of big cities. Life in Switzerland is leisurely, and it is also one of the safest countries in the world.

The cost of a square meter of housing in Switzerland is 50–100 thousand euros. Rent will cost at least 2.5 thousand euros.

Switzerland occupies a leading position due to its status as a global financial center

Denmark

Denmark is a country with a stable economy, a cult of a healthy lifestyle and extremely high prices. However, the salary level here is quite high - even working in low-skilled positions, you can count on 3.5 thousand euros per month. However, it will not be easy for migrants to get used to the realities of local life:

• if you want to adapt to local conditions and become a full member of society, you must know the Danish language, and it is very difficult for people from the CIS countries;
• Russian-speaking migrants are unfamiliar with the local mentality, in particular absolute equality in relations between men and women. Here, for example, no one will be surprised that it is not the mother but the father who is on maternity leave;
• Denmark is a mono-ethnic country, so migrants are treated with caution here. Finding true friends in this country is not easy.

Denmark ranks 4th in the world in terms of environmental performance index. It is second only to Finland, Iceland and Sweden

Netherlands

In terms of quality of life, the Netherlands is quite a bit inferior to Denmark, which is a good result. Many are attracted by the fact that soft drugs are legalized here: weed, mushrooms. But this is mainly in the sphere of interests of tourists who come here to relax and feel the taste of freedom. The locals play sports with all their might; they have attended sports clubs since childhood; adults revere field hockey.

What are the traditions in this country? Goodwill. While you buy a loaf of bread at the market, they will say thank you/please to you three times. And here there is a problem - politeness should be mutual, but we are not used to it... So we have to learn this too.

Eduard Bespalov

http://zagranicey.ru/holland/

The first six months were very difficult. The language barrier caused a feeling of acute isolation. Ignorance of local rules, laws, procedures and traditions only increased feelings of anxiety, uncertainty and insecurity. Moral and financial dependence on the husband. But when I took language courses and got a job, everything began to improve quite quickly. By the way, it took me 5 months to sign up for language courses :) So there is bureaucracy there too, and sometimes it’s worse than ours.

Kira_489

http://pora-valit.livejournal.com/1072401.html

Video: the benefits of living in five top ten countries

Rating of the richest and poorest countries in the world

How to determine how rich a country is? The main criterion for evaluation is an indicator such as GDP per capita. It allows you to form an idea of ​​the level of development of the country’s economy and evaluate its dynamics. The GDP of countries around the world is assessed annually by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In addition to them, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also conducts analytics, but its sample does not include all countries in the world, but only member states, of which there are currently only 34.

Regarding the research results, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are of the same opinion - Qatar is the richest country in the world. This tiny Middle Eastern state owes its leadership status to the rich oil fields located on its territory. In addition, Qatar ranks 3rd in terms of natural gas reserves. The country's economy is developing rapidly. In recent years, the emphasis has been placed on the development of the metallurgical cluster and the tourism sector. The per capita income here is $146 thousand.

Following the crisis year of 2015, our country gave way to Kazakhstan. This is the first time that another post-Soviet country has overtaken Russia in terms of GDP per capita. The fall of the ruble and the increase in the country’s population by as much as 2.5 million people due to the annexation of Crimea played a role. T However, according to 2019 data, the Russian Federation is again ahead of Kazakhstan

Qatar is the richest country in the world, whose prosperity is due to the huge volumes of oil production.

The list of the richest countries in the world in 2019 also includes:

• Luxembourg;
• Singapore;
• Brunei;
• Kuwait;
• Norway;

0.7% of the world's inhabitants control 45.2% of the world's wealth.

Credit Suisse, Swiss financial conglomerate

The poorest countries in the world

The world's least developed countries are traditionally located on the African continent. Due to the low level of financial security, frequent local conflicts, changes in power and incorrect policies, they are the most vulnerable to any changes in the global economy.

Table. List of the poorest countries in the world for 2019

Let's take a closer look at the poorest countries on the planet:

1. Central African Republic (CAR)

The once colonial possession of France gained independent status in 1960. The process of formation of the young state was extremely difficult; numerous conflicts and military coups prevented the country from reaching a normal level of development.

At the moment, it is the poorest state in the world, where most of the population is forced to huddle in makeshift huts on the streets. At the same time, the Central African Republic has enormous resources of gold, diamonds and oil. True, all the deposits belong predominantly to American corporations that are not interested in the development of the country.

1. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

The main problem of this largest African state is ongoing military conflicts, constant corruption scandals involving politicians, and a high crime rate.

The DRC has large reserves of natural resources, which could have a positive impact on economic development, but due to the fact that the deposits are under the control of criminal gangs and foreign companies, no changes are expected in the future.

The situation in the DRC is complicated by the very large population (over 77.5 million people).

1. Burundi

This small state has no natural resources and survives on agriculture. Given the large population (over 11 million people), the lack of foreign investment and the low level of education, positive changes in Burundi are not expected in the coming decades.

Despite agriculture being the leading driver of the economy, large numbers of local residents are forced to go hungry.

1. Liberia

Liberia has only recently begun to recover from the shock. This country has experienced many military conflicts, resulting in the deaths of several hundred thousand inhabitants. Liberia is characterized by a clan power structure. As a result, the country is regularly rocked by political scandals, which also does not help stabilize the situation.

Despite solid financial and political support from the United States, Liberia continues to be one of the least developed countries in the world.

1. Niger

The main problem of this state is also regular political coups and local military conflicts. The lack of normal infrastructure over a large territory affected economic backwardness. In addition, most of the country (about 80%) is the Sahara Desert.

1. Malawi

An agricultural country with a large population (about 20 million people). There are no natural resources here, so residents survive by selling tobacco and other crops.

Low life expectancy, lack of medicine and education continue to keep Malawi in the TOP of the poorest countries in the world.

1. Mozambique

According to experts, Mozambique will leave the ranking of the poorest countries in the world by 2025, moving into the category of developing countries. The current unenviable situation arose due to a long military conflict and subsequent civil war.

Unlike most African countries, political upheavals are extremely rare here, which helps attract foreign investment and improve living standards. Today, the basis of Mozambique's prosperity is agriculture, mining and processing of coal and aluminum.

1. Eritrea

An authoritarian state that gained independence in 1993. Despite access to the Red Sea, Eritrea has failed to attract tourists due to constant political conflicts and high crime rates.

Eritrea is considered one of the most militarized countries in the world. High military spending is exacerbating the unenviable economic situation. The conservatism of the local president, who openly opposes any technical innovations and developments that could benefit the country, also has an impact.

1. Madagascar

The island state specializes in agriculture and fishing. The lack of competent managers, high inflation and unattractiveness for investment force local residents to live in terrible conditions.

1. Comoros

The main problem of this small island state is its low tourist attractiveness, lack of natural resources and small territory. For the Comoros Islands, the problem of social inequality and the high risk of political upheavals are particularly pressing.

The Central African Republic is the poorest country in the world, with almost no resources for a normal existence

Rating of countries by level of happiness

To compare the characteristics of life in different countries, scientists use various indicators: GDP per capita, human development index, quality of life coefficient, income level. Researchers from the British research center New Economics Foundation considered that all these categories are not able to characterize the real state of affairs. And we can agree with them, because, for example, income level is not an indicator of whether people are satisfied with their life in this country. To correct the situation, in 2006, scientists from NEF for the first time presented to the world a new ranking of countries - by level of happiness. The rating is based on 3 indicators:

• satisfaction of the country's residents with their lives;
• life expectancy;
• the degree of environmental damage caused to the country's natural resources by local production, lifestyle of the population and other factors. In scientific terminology, this term is called “ecological footprint”.

The goal of every person is not to be rich, but happy and healthy - this is what British scientists decided and presented to the world a new ranking of countries in the world.

Countries where the population is happy are colored green. “Red countries” have the lowest levels of happiness.

And, indeed, the results turned out completely different. Thus, Costa Rica, which was not included in any of the above ratings, became the leader here - a small state on the isthmus between North and South America turned out to be the happiest on Earth. In terms of GDP per capita, the country is only in the eighth decade. In terms of quality of life, it ranks only 35th. The country is very poor, the main sources of income are the export of coffee and bananas, as well as light industry. However, it is here, as it turns out, that a person can live a long, and most importantly, happy life.

The happiest countries in the world

1. Finland
2. Denmark,
3. Norway,
4. Iceland,
5. Netherlands,
6. Sweden,
7. New Zealand,
8. Canada,
9. Austria.

In the United States of America, which is successful in all economic parameters, the happiness index was only 37.3 points, which is 40% less than in Costa Rica. According to this indicator, America is almost on a par with Russia, where the happiness index is recorded at 34.5 points. And one of the poorest countries in the world, Kenya, is ahead of both world giants - here the level of happiness is as much as 38 points. At the same time, the unemployment rate in the country is more than 40%.

Table: countries where people are especially unhappy

Ranking of countries by income per capita

The nominal wealth of a country is not yet an indicator of the wealth of its inhabitants. Thus, the first place in the world in terms of nominal GDP is occupied by the United States, the richest country per capita is Qatar, and the highest level of wages is recorded today in Norway. Only highly qualified specialists can count on the maximum salary: IT sector workers, doctors.

Table: statistics of average salaries in the CIS countries and other countries of the world in 2019

1. There is still a “shadow sector” of the economy. For example, in Russia, many employers prefer to set the official salary at the minimum acceptable level - in 2019 it is 11,280 rubles. In this way, the employer minimizes its costs of paying taxes for the employee. Statistical reports indicate this exact amount, although the actual income received by the employee “in hand” is much higher.
2. Developed countries are known to have high taxes. The practice of paying them is different than in Russia. In our country, income tax is deducted from wages automatically by a full-time accountant, and the amount of wages in vacancies is indicated by default, taking into account the deduction of taxes. In Western countries it is different: the amount of wages is the one from which taxes have not yet been deducted. For example, before taxes, a German citizen earns about the same as an American. After the tax deduction is made, the actual income of the German is reduced by 1.5 times.
3. In those countries where they pay high salaries, life costs more: prices for gasoline, food, clothing and all services are much higher. So, for a Russian, a Dane’s salary will seem simply huge, but if you live in Denmark, where a cup of coffee costs around 15 euros, the impression will be different.
4. Data vary across countries for different professions. For example, teachers earn the most not in Norway, but in the USA, Germany and the UK.

The gradation of income level goes from blue to yellow. Russia, as we see, is on the same level with Latin American countries

The ranking of countries by the number of representatives of the so-called middle class is considered more revealing. The largest number of people who lead a lifestyle characterized by sociologists as “decent” is found in Australia - here 66% of the country’s total adult population belongs to the middle class. Next come Singapore, Belgium, Italy and Japan. Russia, according to experts from the Swiss financial conglomerate Credit Suisse, has a middle class share of only 4%. This is a very low figure: our country’s closest neighbors according to this rating are Indonesia and Argentina. The United States leads in the number of millionaires - almost half of all millionaires on the planet are concentrated in this country.

The USA has the most dollar millionaires. Russia in this diagram belongs to the “Rest of world” block, which means “rest of the world”

Where can migrants live well?

When choosing a country for immigration, it is certainly necessary to take into account the ranking of countries by standard of living. However, its subjectivity should also be taken into account, because for native citizens and immigrants the realities of life are very different. Here are just a few examples:

1. In Denmark, only those who have lived in the country for at least 40 years can receive a full state pension. It is almost impossible to get a highly qualified job here, even if you speak excellent English, but do not know the Danish language. As a result, many Russian-speaking migrants with higher education are forced to take jobs as maids, nannies, and farm workers.
2. In the prosperous United Arab Emirates, the indigenous population receives a consistently high income from the sale of petroleum products, and the parents of a newborn child receive a payment of up to $100,000, but immigrants cannot take advantage of such privileges.

The United Arab Emirates has an extremely high standard of living, but only indigenous residents of the country have the right to take advantage of the privileges

The best countries to raise children

Those who are planning to go abroad with a child or are thinking about the birth of a child in a new place of residence need to assess all risk factors in advance:

• Raising children in Australia is very expensive. Many women do not have the opportunity to pursue a career, since the cost of sending a child to kindergarten is at least 100 euros per day. Even for a wealthy family this is a significant amount. Nanny services are even more expensive;
• In the USA, staying in a kindergarten costs an average of 1 thousand dollars a month. The intelligentsia prefers to raise a child at home;
• In Germany, prices for a child’s stay in kindergarten depend on family income. If it is less than 13 thousand euros per year, then this service will be free.

In Germany, children are accepted into kindergarten from the age of three years, the payment ranges from 70 to 400 euros per month. It depends on the availability of lunches, on how much time the child spends in the establishment (whether he stays until lunch or until the evening).

Tatiana, lives in Berlin

In Oslo, kindergartens are full; you can wait months for a place to be found. In other cities in Norway this is easier. They go to kindergarten from the age of one, the payment is approximately the same everywhere - 2500 crowns per month - that's about 430 dollars.

Victoria, mother of two children

http://www.baby.ru/community/view/30500/forum/post/424713193/

One of the best countries to raise children is Denmark. There is strong support for mothers during maternity leave and stable social guarantees. When a child reaches the age of 6 months, he is guaranteed to be accepted into a nursery if the parents have reserved a free place 3 months in advance. The state pays benefits to the family quarterly until the child reaches the age of 17. Confirmation of the effectiveness of social support for parents - right on the city streets. Seeing a family with three children is not uncommon, as in Russia, but rather the rule.

There are a lot of bicycles in Denmark, there are also family models

However, in many Western countries, especially in Scandinavia, there are different principles of raising children than in Russia and the CIS countries:

1. There is no quiet time here. It is believed that forcing a child to sleep means violating his personal boundaries. If the baby wants to sleep, he can do so. If not, the teachers will not insist on it.
2. Democracy has been elevated to absolute. You can’t yell at a child; for this you can even be deprived of parental rights.
3. It is believed that a child is already a full-fledged person. Hence permissiveness and a minimum number of prohibitions.
4. In kindergartens in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, more attention is paid not to the education of children, but to their socialization. It is believed that there is no need to take away a child’s childhood. The guys spend most of their time walking, rather than spending time in classes.

Interesting fact: in kindergartens in France it is forbidden to bring toys, wear scarves (this is a potential choking hazard) and feed children milk and cookies (this can lead to obesity). In addition, on Wednesdays children do not go to kindergarten - this is a day for visiting various clubs and sections.

Leaders in living comfort

Canada and Germany, which, although not included in the TOP 5 countries with the highest standard of living, are, on the contrary, considered more attractive for migrants. This situation is due to the following factors:

• stability of social guarantees;
• loyal attitude towards immigrants;
• high level of employment;
• presence of Russian communities.

Video: about the salary that visitors to Germany can count on

A large number of Russians traditionally live in Germany - this is due, among other things, to the state policy of repatriation of Volga Germans. Many took advantage of this opportunity and left for Germany for permanent residence.

Leaders in ease of obtaining citizenship

If we evaluate the attractiveness of countries in the world not from the point of view of the comfort of living in them, but by the ease of obtaining citizenship, the leader is St. Kitts and Nevis. The condition for obtaining a passport from this country is an investment of at least 400 thousand dollars. The resident status of St. Kitts and Nevis allows you to visit Schengen countries, Canada, the UK and a number of other countries without a visa. Many people enjoy this privilege, being a citizen of this Caribbean state only formally, but in fact living in Western European countries.

Latvia is also among the leaders in attractiveness for migrants. Subject to the purchase of real estate worth more than 140 thousand euros, the state is ready to offer the investor a residence permit for 5 years, and after 10 years make him a full resident of the country.

Going to live in Latvia is not as difficult as, for example, in the UK

To compare different countries of the world, you need to consider several indicators: standard of living, average wages, the share occupied by the middle class in the overall population structure, quality of life, etc. The most revealing and most fully characterizing the state of affairs in the state is the ranking of countries by standard of living, which is compiled by researchers from the UN. But even it cannot be called absolutely objective, despite the fact that it takes into account completely diverse indicators: life expectancy, level of literacy, safety, welfare, etc. Even in those countries where there are colossal national wealth and local residents are already provided with income from birth, the situation is completely different for visitors. When choosing a country to move to, it is worth considering the results of various ratings, but in the end it is better to rely on your own worldview, because the happiest citizens are Costa Rican citizens, where there are no high salaries, no career prospects, no reliable social guarantees. When choosing a country for immigration, everything is individual: some will decide to go to conservative Germany, while others will prefer sunny Thailand.

Indeed, very interesting data.
The countries in the table are ranked by real GDP. Yes, China has already overtaken the States, and India - Germany and Japan.

Original taken from lexpartizan in Funny pictures. Statistics.

Spidell found some interesting pictures here with statistics on GDP growth in different countries. Well, at the same time I’ll introduce you to the new Asian tiger))

So, let's look at the economic growth of developed capitalist countries over the 16 years since the beginning of the millennium.

USA - 32% in 16 years, Karl! Last year - 1.6%.
Canada - 35%.
Sweden-40%.
Aglia - 31%. No wonder she wants to leave the EU and get rid of the losers.
Switzerland - 30%.
Spain - 27%.
Belgium - 25%.
Austria - 24%
Germany - 20%.
France - 20%.
Netherlands - 20%.
Finland - 19%.
Japan - 12%.
Denmark - 11%.
And the prize for marking time goes to mighty Italy, which has grown by as much as 0.2% in 16 years. Silvio Berlusconi rules!
Supporting from below is Greece, which has managed to lose 2.5% of GDP in 16 years.

Russia has increased its GDP by 68% over 16 years. What was there about “doubling GDP”? On the other hand, there is no point in complaining about capitalism gone wrong. Tea is not Italy))
Ukraine by 32%. Just like a European country))

But let's look at our champions))
The first number is... You'll never guess... No, not China... No, not India.
Our first number is our distant relative, a native of the USSR...
Turkmenistan!
In 16 years, he increased GDP by as much as 502%!
China (322%) and India (208%) are just pathetic brakes in comparison.
This is what happens when Russians stop “feeding the narrow-eyed republics”, tearing off the last piece of bread from their children)) Stop feeding the parasites!))

I won’t draw any special conclusions. It is obvious that there is no growth in developed countries, and global growth is provided by developing countries. But this is a finite resource)) China is noticeably slowing down. And others have long forgotten about double-digit growth.

PS. But oil is growing))