They must be sprinkling vitamins on our parmis and minerals on our fairy bread because Australia has once again cracked the list of the world’s healthiest countries for 2024. Securing the seventh spot should come as no surprise considering that Aussies have bragging rights to the highest sports participation in the world, have access to the freshest produce served at our nation’s top restaurants, and have plenty of green spaces for that daily hit of Vitamin D. However, it’s still nice to have a little pat on the back.
Ranking in at number seven on the Bloomberg Global Health Index, Australia is one of the few English-speaking nations to make the top ten out of 53 countries analysed. Bloomberg’s detailed study looked at various factors beyond average life expectancy, including basic hygiene, diet, access to clean water, availability of medical care, environmental factors and quality of healthcare systems.
Perhaps we need to spice up our lives with more paella and flamenco dancing because Spain took the cake as the number one healthiest country on the planet, scoring 92.75 on the health index. The Southwestern European country boasts one of the world’s highest life expectancies of 83.5 years, eats a predominantly Mediterranean diet rich in healthy fats and plant-based foods, has the highest percentage of people who walk to walk in Europe at 37 per cent, and also has a robust public healthcare program.
Italy came in second place with a health index score of 91.59, closely followed by Iceland, Japan, Switzerland and Sweden. Australia was ranked as the seventh healthiest country in the world with a health index rating of 89.75. While we share a high life expectancy of 83.2 years (as of 2021) with Spain, our diets tend to include more processed foods, and less than five per cent of Aussies walk to work (as of 2021). So lace up those shoes for tomorrow’s morning commute tomorrow and don’t forget to pack your leafy greens.
Here are the top ten healthiest countries in the world in 2024, according to the Bloomberg Global Health Index:
- Spain
- Italy
- Iceland
- Japan
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Australia
- Singapore
- Norway
- Israel
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