Survey shows Australia is top of the happiness league

A recent survey by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation, (OECD) confirms what most migrants in the lucky country know already – Australia is the happiest country.

Blessed with glorious beaches and endless sunshine, Australia has been a refuge for migrants from colder climes for a century or more, but now it’s official – the country is rated top in an international happiness league table. Quality of life is the reason given by many would-be immigrants to the world’s largest island, now number one in the survey.

The majority of migrants in earlier days arrived from the UK, with their home country now unsurprisingly reduced to number 10 in the survey. Australia’s low crime rates, strong economy, low pollution levels and good standard of public health won it the top place in the poll.

Eleven categories formed the survey, including income, job satisfaction, health and housing, with 36 nations represented. The UK lost to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, freezing Iceland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada and the US.

The UK’s recently-introduced benefit cuts were considered to affect many families, and overcrowding and poor schooling favouring the rich rather than all pupils helped pull the country well down the list. High unemployment was a positive, as were community spirit and the relatively low crime level, but they weren’t enough to change the overall result.

While expats in Australia are enjoying their lifestyles, those in France and Germany, stuck at numbers 18,and I7 respectively, face a gloomy future. The troubled Mediterranean EU countries are not the place to migrate to right now, as Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal are firmly placed at the bottom of the table.