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Study Ranks Israel 8th Happiest in the Western World

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New OECD study shows that Israelis are among the happiest people in the Western world.
New OECD study shows that Israelis are among the happiest people in the Western world.
Israelis are among the happiest people in the Western world, despite poor rankings of many of the criteria in a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The OECD recently published its Better Life Index analyzing the quality of life among its 34 member countries, which includes Israel, and two nonmembers, Brazil and Russia.

Israel came out on in the Top 10 in two measures: health (Israel ranked in fifth out of 36) and happiness (eighth).

The poll considered 11 criteria when measuring the countries: housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance.

Money and jobs were shown as key factor in the wellbeing of a nation. In Israel, the average household net-adjusted disposable income is lower than the OECD average of 23 047 USD a year.

In terms of employment, over 61% of people aged 15 to 64 in Israel have a paid job, below the OECD employment average of 66%. Some 64% of men are in paid work, compared with 57% of women. People in Israel work 1 890 hours a year, more than the OECD average of 1 776 hours. Almost 18% of employees work very long hours, much higher than the OECD average of 9%, with 27% of men working very long hours compared with 8% for women.

In terms of education, Israel ranked above the OECD average of 74 percent, with 82 percent of adults aged 25-64 having earned the equivalent of a high-school degree. However, in terms of the quality of the education system, the average student received a below average score on standardized math and science exams. On average in Israel, girls outperformed boys by 13 points, a larger difference than the average OECD gap of 9 points.

In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Israel is almost 82 years, two years higher than the OECD average of 80 years. Life expectancy for women is 84 years, compared with 80 for men. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 24 micrograms per cubic meter, higher than the OECD average of 20 micrograms per cubic meter. Israel could also perform better in terms of water quality, as only 66% of people say they are satisfied with the quality of their water, compared with an OECD average of 84%.

Concerning the public sphere, there is a moderate sense of community and moderate levels of civic participation in Israel, where 89% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, lower than the OECD average of 90%. Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens’ participation in the political process, was 65% during recent elections, lower than the OECD average of 72%. Social and economic status can affect voting rates; voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is 71% and for the bottom 20% it is 63%, a slightly narrower gap than the OECD average gap of 12 percentage points.

In general, Israelis are less satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, with 70% of people saying they have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc).

Meanwhile, Australia tops the list for a third year in a row, followed by Sweden in second and Canada in third. The U.S. came in at number six, while Turkey came in at the lowest spot.

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