Ranked: World’s Best Countries to Live in for Quality of Life, 2025

Deciding where to live is crucial, and finding the best country to live in is essential. Our 2025 Human Progress Index (HPI) rankings thoroughly analyze factors such as quality of life, life expectancy, education, political stability, per capita income, and opportunities. A country gets a higher score on the Human Progress Index (HPI) when its life expectancy, quality of life, education level, gross income per person, and work-life satisfaction are better.

The driving force that makes a country a global leader is none other than its citizens. According to the 2024 Human Progress Index (HPI) report by CEOWORLD Magazine, Switzerland is the world’s best country for quality of life. Norway and Iceland are next. Hong Kong secured fourth place, leading ahead of Sweden, while Denmark and Germany ranked sixth and seventh, respectively. The top 10 best countries for citizens to live in are Ireland, Singapore, and Australia, holding the eighth, ninth, and tenth positions, respectively.

World’s Best Countries to Live in for Quality of Life

Rank	Coutry	Human Progress Index (HPI)	HPI Tier	Region	Population
1	Switzerland	97.9	Very High	Europe	8,981,565
2	Norway	97.87	Very High	Europe	5,562,363
3	Iceland	97.47	Very High	Europe	383,726
4	Hong Kong (China)	97.31	Very High	Asia	7,503,100
5	Sweden	97.28	Very High	Europe	10,548,261
6	Denmark	96.92	Very High	Europe	5,967,824
7	Germany	96.54	Very High	Europe	84,673,158
8	Ireland	96.08	Very High	Europe	5,281,600
9	Singapore	95.9	Very High	Asia	5,917,600
10	Australia	95.78	Very High	Oceania	27,282,542
11	Netherlands	95.7	Very High	Europe	17,977,676
12	Belgium	95.18	Very High	Europe	11,828,948
13	Finland	95.12	Very High	Europe	5,583,284
14	Monaco	94.16	Very High	Europe	38,367
15	Liechtenstein	93.84	Very High	Europe	40,023
16	United Kingdom	93.82	Very High	Europe	67,596,281
17	New Zealand	93.74	Very High	Oceania	5,338,900
18	United Arab Emirates	93.68	Very High	Asia	10,288,946
19	Taiwan	93.66	Very High	Asia	23,413,608
20	South Korea	93.23	Very High	Asia	51,285,153
21	United States	93.07	Very High	Americas	335,893,238
22	Luxembourg	92.52	Very High	Europe	672,020
23	Austria	92.5	Very High	Europe	9,170,647
24	Slovenia	92.4	Very High	Europe	2,123,949
25	Japan	92.34	Very High	Asia	123,960,000
26	Israel	91.88	Very High	Asia	9,907,100
27	Macao (China)	91.49	Very High	Asia	686,400
28	Malta	90.78	Very High	Europe	542,051
29	Spain	90.37	Very High	Europe	48,692,804
30	France	90.22	Very High	Europe	68,449,000
31	Cyprus	90.1	Very High	Asia	918,100
32	Italy	89.76	Very High	Europe	58,968,501
33	Estonia	89.72	Very High	Europe	1,374,687
34	Czech Republic (Czechia)	89.56	Very High	Europe	10,859,532
35	Greece	89.44	Very High	Europe	10,413,982
36	Bahrain	89.21	Very High	Asia	1,577,059
37	Andorra	88.62	Very High	Europe	85,100
38	Poland	88.42	Very High	Europe	37,582,000
39	Lithuania	88.37	Very High	Europe	2,891,215
40	Canada	88.21	Very High	Americas	41,012,563
41	Latvia	87.85	Very High	Europe	1,862,700
42	Croatia	87.47	Very High	Europe	3,855,641
43	Saudi Arabia	87.43	Very High	Asia	32,175,224
44	Qatar	87.22	Very High	Asia	2,857,822
45	Portugal	87	Very High	Europe	10,639,726
46	San Marino	86.89	Very High	Europe	33,950
47	Chile	86.69	Very High	Americas	19,960,889
48	Turkey (Türkiye)	86.59	Very High	Asia	85,372,377
49	Slovakia	86.31	Very High	Europe	5,422,620
50	Hungary	86.04	Very High	Europe	9,584,627
51	Argentina	85.09	Very High	Americas	47,067,441
52	Kuwait	84.54	Very High	Asia	4,913,271
53	Montenegro	84.23	Very High	Europe	616,695
54	Saint Kitts and Nevis	83.83	Very High	Americas	51,320
55	Uruguay	83.59	Very High	Americas	3,444,263
56	Romania	83.05	Very High	Europe	19,051,562
57	Antigua and Barbuda	82.98	Very High	Americas	103,603
58	Brunei Darussalam	82.08	Very High	Asia	445,400
59	Russia	81.84	Very High	Europe	146,150,789
60	Panama	81.57	Very High	Americas	4,064,780
61	Bahamas	81.24	Very High	Americas	397,360
62	Oman	80.77	Very High	Asia	5,190,332
63	Georgia	80.55	Very High	Asia	3,694,600
64	Trinidad and Tobago	80.45	Very High	Americas	1,367,510
65	Barbados	80.27	Very High	Americas	267,800
66	Malaysia	79.53	Very High	Asia	33,980,600
67	Costa Rica	79.42	Very High	Americas	5,309,625
68	Serbia	79.4	Very High	Europe	6,605,168
69	Thailand	79.33	Very High	Asia	65,990,480
70	Kazakhstan	79.32	Very High	Asia	20,118,478
71	Seychelles	79.29	Very High	Africa	120,581
72	Belarus	78.97	Very High	Europe	9,155,978
73	Bulgaria	78.6	High	Europe	6,445,481
74	Palau	78.14	High	Oceania	16,733
75	Mauritius	78.02	High	Africa	1,260,379
76	Albania	77.27	High	Europe	46,700,000
77	China	77.25	High	Asia	1,409,670,000
78	Armenia	77.08	High	Asia	3,039,700
79	Mexico	77.04	High	Americas	129,713,690
80	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	76.68	High	Asia	85,000,000
81	Sri Lanka	76.55	High	Asia	22,037,000
82	Bosnia and Herzegovina	76.5	High	Europe	3,264,873
83	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	76.12	High	Americas	110,872
84	Dominican Republic	75.93	High	Americas	10,760,028
85	Ecuador	75.85	High	Americas	16,938,986
86	North Macedonia	75.29	High	Europe	1,829,954
87	Cuba	75.16	High	Americas	11,089,511
88	Moldova	75.08	High	Europe	2,423,300
89	Peru	74.87	High	Americas	34,038,457
90	Maldives	74.67	High	Asia	515,132
91	Brazil	74.49	High	Americas	203,080,756
92	Azerbaijan	74.32	High	Asia	10,151,517
93	Colombia	73.82	High	Americas	52,695,952
94	Libya	73.81	High	Africa	6,931,061
95	Algeria	73.66	High	Africa	46,700,000
96	Turkmenistan	73.54	High	Asia	7,057,841
97	Guyana	73.28	High	Americas	772,975
98	Mongolia	73.04	High	Asia	3,504,741
99	Dominica	72.91	High	Americas	67,408
100	Tonga	72.45	High	Oceania	100,179
101	Jordan	72.31	High	Asia	11,516,000
102	Ukraine	72.15	High	Europe	36,700,000
103	Tunisia	71.51	High	Africa	11,850,232
104	Paraguay	71.45	High	Americas	6,109,644
105	Marshall Islands	71.33	High	Oceania	42,418
106	Fiji	71.27	High	Oceania	893,468
107	Egypt	71.17	High	Africa	105,914,499
108	Uzbekistan	70.94	High	Asia	36,963,262
109	Vietnam	70.72	High	Asia	100,300,000
110	Saint Lucia	70.19	High	Americas	184,100
111	Lebanon	69.82	High	Asia	5,490,000
112	South Africa	69.74	High	Africa	62,027,503
113	Palestine	69.27	High	Asia	5,483,450
114	Indonesia	68.68	High	Asia	281,603,800
115	Philippines	68.63	High	Asia	114,163,719
116	Botswana	68.53	High	Africa	2,410,338
117	Jamaica	68.36	High	Americas	2,825,544
118	Samoa	68.29	High	Oceania	205,557
119	Kyrgyzstan	68.2	High	Asia	7,100,000
120	Belize	67.87	High	Americas	397,483
121	Venezuela	67.69	Medium	Americas	28,302,000
122	Morocco	66.07	Medium	Africa	37,369,652
123	Bolivia	65.72	Medium	Americas	12,006,031
124	Nauru	64.93	Medium	Oceania	11,680
125	Gabon	64.84	Medium	Africa	2,408,586
126	Suriname	64.81	Medium	Americas	616,500
127	Bhutan	64.79	Medium	Asia	777,224
128	Tajikistan	63.4	Medium	Asia	10,077,600
129	El Salvador	63.27	Medium	Americas	6,884,888
130	Iraq	63.25	Medium	Asia	44,414,800
131	Bangladesh	63.11	Medium	Asia	169,828,911
132	Nicaragua	62.99	Medium	Americas	6,803,886
133	Cabo Verde [Cape Verde]	62.74	Medium	Africa	491,233
134	Tuvalu	62.73	Medium	Oceania	10,679
135	Equatorial Guinea	62.61	Medium	Africa	1,558,160
136	India	62.5	Medium	Asia	1,404,910,000
137	Micronesia	62.43	Medium	Oceania	105,754
138	Guatemala	61.79	Medium	Americas	17,843,132
139	Kiribati	61.26	Medium	Oceania	120,740
140	Honduras	61.09	Medium	Americas	9,892,632
141	Laos	60.95	Medium	Asia	7,443,000
142	Vanuatu	60.84	Medium	Oceania	301,295
143	São Tomé and Príncipe	60.62	Medium	Africa	228,319
144	Namibia	60.54	Medium	Africa	3,022,401
145	Eswatini [Swaziland]	59.26	Medium	Africa	1,235,549
146	Myanmar [Burma]	59.16	Medium	Asia	56,712,559
147	Ghana	59.02	Medium	Africa	30,832,019
148	Kenya	58.83	Medium	Africa	52,428,290
149	Nepal	58.47	Medium	Asia	29,164,578
150	Cambodia	58.43	Medium	Asia	17,336,307
151	Angola	58.05	Medium	Africa	35,121,734
152	Cameroon	57.58	Medium	Africa	28,758,503
153	Comoros	56.74	Medium	Africa	758,316
154	Zambia	56.56	Medium	Africa	19,610,769
155	Papua New Guinea	56.49	Medium	Oceania	11,781,559
156	Timor Leste (East Timor)	56.47	Medium	Asia	1,373,024
157	Solomon Islands	56.23	Medium	Oceania	750,325
158	Syria	56.2	Medium	Asia	22,923,000
159	Haiti	55.09	Medium	Americas	11,743,017
160	Uganda	54.73	Medium	Africa	45,935,046
161	Zimbabwe	54.72	Medium	Africa	15,178,979
162	Nigeria	54.69	Low	Africa	223,800,000
163	Rwanda	54.59	Low	Africa	13,246,394
164	Togo	54.46	Low	Africa	8,095,498
165	Pakistan	54.32	Low	Asia	241,499,431
166	Mauritania	54.3	Low	Africa	4,475,683
167	Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)	53.78	Low	Africa	29,389,150
168	Tanzania	53.48	Low	Africa	65,070,448
169	Lesotho	52.89	Low	Africa	2,306,000
170	Senegal	52.83	Low	Africa	18,126,390
171	Sudan	52.66	Low	Africa	41,984,500
172	Djibouti	52.64	Low	Africa	1,001,454
173	Malawi	52.54	Low	Africa	22,245,431
174	Benin	52.37	Low	Africa	12,910,087
175	Gambia	52.27	Low	Africa	2,417,471
176	Eritrea	51.97	Low	Africa	3,748,902
177	Ethiopia	51.95	Low	Africa	109,499,000
178	Madagascar	50.87	Low	Africa	30,811,969
179	Liberia	50.67	Low	Africa	5,248,621
180	Guinea-Bissau	50.63	Low	Africa	1,781,308
181	DR Congo [Democratic Republic of the Congo]	50.22	Low	Africa	98,370,000
182	Guinea	50.17	Low	Africa	13,261,638
183	Afghanistan	49.47	Low	Asia	34,262,840
184	Mozambique	49.39	Low	Africa	32,419,747
185	Republic of the Congo	49.36	Low	Africa	6,142,180
186	North Korea	49.08		Asia	25,660,000
187	Sierra Leone	48.14	Low	Africa	8,494,260
188	Burkina Faso	47.84	Low	Africa	23,409,015
189	Yemen	47.77	Low	Asia	31,888,698
190	Burundi	47.62	Low	Africa	12,837,740
191	Mali	47.55	Low	Africa	22,395,489
192	Niger	46.15	Low	Africa	26,312,034
193	Chad	46.03	Low	Africa	18,675,547
194	Central African Republic	45.48	Low	Africa	5,633,412
195	South Sudan	45.16	Low	Africa	14,746,494
196	Somalia	45.09	Low	Africa	18,143,379

Detailed findings & methodology:

To determine the rankings, researchers at the CEOWORLD magazine analyzed and compared 196 countries across three key categories: 1) Stability, 2) Satisfaction, and 3) Balance. To evaluate those dimensions, researchers looked at 23 indicators that fell into one of the three categories. Each attribute was graded on a 100-point scale.

1) Stability
economic growth
Indirect tax rate
corporate tax rate
The personal income tax rate
average life expectancy
earnings and job security
housing conditions and spending
household income (after taxes and transfers) and net financial wealth

2) Satisfaction
safety
level of happiness
quality of governance
corruption perceptions
child and maternal mortality
infrastructure and transport
efficacy of the public health system
Overall efficacy of the education system

3) Balance
human rights
civil liberties
political rights
work-life balance
religious freedom
equality among genders
Care about the environment

Raw data for countries were normalized on a 1-100 scale according to the following: Each indicator was given equal weighting within each of the three categories, with some indicators comprising 2-3 sub-indicators also weighted equally. Each category was weighted equally to arrive at the overall index.

Sources: CEOWORLD magazine put together a panel of experts to go over data points culled from sources like the EIU Index, World Economic Forum, Global Insight, the Global Gender Gap Index, Gini, and Gender Gap index, The Legatum Prosperity Index, Transparency International, Environmental Performance Index, Better Life Index, CIA World Factbook, World Bank, UNDP Annual Report, as well as CEOWORLD magazine research. They then used that information to compare the world’s countries for their citizens and residents. Based on a consensus from these sources, the final choice of cities was judged editorially, as was their position on the list. All data is for the most recent period available.

So, these are some of the countries that have created a name for themselves in the citizenship arena. With the high quality of life practiced there, it can be easily concluded that citizens can enjoy a gala time in these nations!

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