..but I still think it's pretty cool.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1526813.ece

The latest list from the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) rates Norway as the best country in the world to live in for the sixth year running, after toppling Canada from the top spot in 2001.

Congratulations Norwegians! Still... no matter how good things are you still have the same sucky weather! :D

well US passed Switzerland and Belgium!

Although Japan passed us for the highest "Big" Country (Population wise) - barely though they are .944 we are .943!

Congratulations to Norway. It's something to be proud of :) .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_IndexHuman Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standards of living for countries worldwide.

The HDI measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development:

* A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth.
* Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weight) and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrollment ratio (with one-third weight).
* A decent standard of living, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) in USD.The jump from "HDI" to "best place to live" is a surprisingly large one. There are many other factors that might make one place to live "better" than another.

Norway looks a good place to raise your kids. Wealth, education, and health. As good a way to choose 'best place to live' as any other (as nobody can usually decide what's best for themselves let alone anyone else).

Wealth, education, and health. As good a way to choose 'best place to live' as any other (as nobody can usually decide what's best for themselves let alone anyone else).Yep, who cares about personal freedom, diversity, environment, security, climate, culture, and so on. Using the HDI, a polluted, totalitarian wasteland could rank as the "best place to live", so long as everyone is educated, there are no poor, and there are few early deaths.

I'm not saying Norway isn't a good place to live, but there's a lot more to that formula than three simple variables.

Make your own formula up and we can tell you bad that is too :).