The Luckiest People in the World

Luck has always played a big part in the lives of people. Whether you admit it or not, with a pinch of good fortune on your side, your hard work will pay off rapidly and your goals will be met in an instant. However, there are some individuals who are just born lucky. Usually, this is associated with being in the right place at the right time, which often depends on events out of your control. In this article, we'll have a look at various factors applicable for people from various countries, alongside some interesting statistics and indexes presented in an enticing manner.

Methodology: The Luckiest People in the World

This study attempted to measure the mean level of how privileged a nation is, and then compare them on a national level. The subjects of the study are all 37 member states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as Argentina, Bulgaria, Brazil, India, Russia, Singapore and South Africa.

For the study, all of the above-mentioned nations were evaluated in the four study fields of “opportunities,” “freedom,” “health,” and “finance.” A total of 19 influencing factors, described below, contribute to the final results of the study. All influencing factors were selected based on their significance in relation to the evaluation of privilege.

The result is a ranking of the most privileged nations in the world. The study was completed in July 2021.

Fields of Investigation, Influencing Factors and Sources

To be able to properly evaluate who are the luckiest people in the world, we would like to lean on objective factors. What we mean is that if we base our observation on facts and a certain methodology, we would be able to objectively see which people would feel the luckiest in the world. Of course, the most important factors we'll observe include health, finances, opportunities, and many more we've summarised in the following paragraphs.

Field of Investigation 1: Opportunities

First, we'll have a look at the various opportunities presented in different countries. Needless to say, we spend most of our lifetime working, so having a good source of income where safety and a good working environment are vital. Employment and unemployment rates are very important when it comes to this particular evaluation, as well as considering income equality and inequality. Below you can see the statistics which we must admit are very interesting.

  • Schooling: Education is a human right that should be available to every child. Education lays the foundations for shaping one's own future. To assess access to education in the nations studied, data was analysed that shows the percentage of youth (ages 15-24) who are not in school. The data came from the United Nations International Labour Organization. The lower the percentage, the better a nation was rated in this study.
  • Higher Education: Higher education, with its cross-links to research and innovation, plays a crucial role in personal and social development. It also produces highly qualified professionals and competent citizens. Information on the percentage of the population (over 15 years of age) with a college education was taken from Barro-Lee data on education. The higher the percentage, the better a nation was rated in this study.
  • Employment: In general, gainful employment and full employment, provide people with the opportunity to earn their own living and thus, live independently. In order to evaluate the level of employment in the data examined, data on unemployment rates from the United Nations International Labor Organisation were analyzed. The lower the rate, the more privileged a nation was rated in this study.
  • Productivity: Gross domestic product is one of the most important measures of a country's economic activity. Information on the gross domestic product of the nations studied was taken from data provided by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The higher the GDP, the more privileged a nation was rated in this study.
  • Income Equality: Large income disparities are indicative of inequalities in society. The closer a nation is to the ideal of income equality, the more equal opportunities there are among the population. Information on income equity was taken from the World Bank's GINI index.
  • Opportunities for Advancement: The chance of a generation to lead a better life than its parents' generation is referred to as social mobility. High social mobility indicates growing economic development. Information on opportunities for advancement was taken from data from the World Economic Forum's Global Social Mobility Index 2020.

Field of Investigation 2: Freedom

Once you have a stable job with good working conditions, where you feel safe and appreciated, you might be considered as a person who has hit a huge jackpot in life. However, this wouldn't be meaningful without one of the most important fundamentals of our everyday lives - freedom. There have been debates for decades, centuries even, whether this important life quality is present everywhere, so below, we've presented the most important fundamentals by a country which measure freedom.

  • Human Rights Situation: Human rights are universal, non-negotiable and recognised by all nations studied. Nevertheless, the human rights situation is better in some countries than in others. The Human Rights Protection Score of the University of Michigan (USA) was used to assess the human rights situation.
  • Satisfaction: Wherever a particularly large number of people state that they are happy and satisfied equates to a good quality of life. Happiness and contentment is a great privilege. Information on the level of satisfaction in the nations studied was taken from the World Happiness Report of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
  • Gender Parity: Gender equality is one of the most important prerequisites for creating equal opportunities between women and men. Data from The Social Institutions and Gender Index of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) allow an assessment of the gender equality situation.
  • Freedom to Travel: Those who can move freely around the world enjoy valuable privileges. Since visa requirements and entry restrictions are usually linked to the country of issuance of the passport, information on the assessment of freedom to travel was taken from the Global Passport Power Rank 2021 by the financial consultancy Arton Capital.

Field of Investigation 3: Health

Surely, all of the above-mentioned factors are important, but they wouldn't be meaningful without health. Knowing that the government has taken necessary steps to ensure your safety, increases not only your quality of life but your overall life expectancy. Air pollution is also of major importance due to the ever-growing challenges with various factories and heavy industrial companies. Unfortunately, not many countries have taken the right approach to this very important fundamental, so we consider the top 10 countries from this field to be very responsible.

  • Life Expectancy: Average life expectancy is determined by many influencing factors. It is an important socioeconomic metric for assessing a nation's standard of living. Information on average life expectancy was taken from World Bank data.
  • Health Spending: Growing public spending on health generally leads to better medical care and well-being. To assess this factor, data from the World Health Organisation on "Domestic general government health expenditure (percentage of current health expenditure)" was analysed.
  • Social Cohesion: A dense social network of relationships strengthens the individual and thus indirectly promotes his or her well-being. To assess the degree of social cohesion, data from the World Bank's "The State of Social Safety Nets 2018" report were used.
  • Air Quality: Clean air plays an important role in health. Poor air, on the other hand, makes people sick and reduces their quality of life. To assess the quality of air in the nations studied, data on mortality rates from air pollution from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington (USA) were analysed. The lower the rate, the better a nation was rated in this study.
  • Accident Risk: A low traffic accident rate suggests high levels of safety measures and road hazard prevention. To assess the risk of accidents in the nations studied, fatal accident rate data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington (USA) were analysed. The lower the rate, the better a nation was rated in this study.
  • Homicide Risk: A low homicide rate provides an increased sense of safety and thus indirectly greater well-being. To assess the risk of homicide in the nations studied, data on homicide rates from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington (USA) were analyzed. The lower the rate, the better a nation was rated in this study.

In case you are interested in more in-depth research and numbers, here you can find a dedicated statistic article for the UK crime rates per area.

Field of investigation 4: Finances

Good financial stability have always played an important role in the life of people. While many individuals are happy with an average wage and enjoy life in a modest way, there are others who like to dream a little more. What this means is that it is important for a country to provide enough opportunities to its people for personal and business development, which would then help them create businesses, workplaces, and increase the overall national wealth.

  • Wealth: Those who achieve a standard of living where they have more available than they need (i.e., affluence) generally experience greater well-being. Information on the level of prosperity of all nations was taken from Bank Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Databook 2019 report. The more wealth a nation has, the better it is rated.
  • Income: Wealth is closely tied to financial income. Above-average income generally leads to increasing prosperity. Information on net national income was taken from World Bank data. For better comparison, an adjusted figure was used that takes into account local purchasing power levels.
  • Millionaires: The number of millionaires per inhabitant was taken from the "Global Wealth Databook 2019" report by Bank Credit Suisse.

Calculation and Scoring

great online casino bonus, a certain level of calculations is needed beforehand, which makes the process similar to the evaluation we've presented above.––> To calculate a ranking, all the results of the influencing factors studied were standardised. Points on a scale between 0 and 100 were used for this purpose. The nation that was found to be most privileged in the respective influencing factor was given a score of 100.0. The nation that was found to be least privileged in the respective influencing factor was given a score of 0.0. All other nations were ranked according to their result with a score in between.

Subsequently, all points from all influencing factors of a study field were added. The sum resulted in the investigation field result. Finally, all four study field results were added together and this final result was also standardised on a point scale between 0 and 100. The standardised final result corresponds to the communicated final ranking. The calculation was made using the following normalisation formula: x new = x – x minx max – x min

The research was carried out by ABCD Agency in July 2021.

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