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worst in show

The 10 developed countries with the worst quality of life

Income, housing, jobs, education – these are the 10 countries that fared the worst in the OECD’s survey of quality of life.

WANT TO LIVE a better life? Then don’t move to Turkey, which ranked dead last in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) new Better Life Index for the second year in a row.

The OECD – an international economic organisation – analysed its 34 member countries in 11 categories, including income, housing, jobs, community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance, with each country rated on a 10-point scale for each criteria. (You can read the full methodology here).

The list was topped by Australia, with Ireland coming 15th overall.

These are the 10 countries with the lowest overall scores, and we highlighted a few of the criteria on the following slides so you could see why.

#10: South Korea

(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Average household disposable income: €13,294

South Koreans are hard workers — so much so that they risk burning themselves out, working an average of 2,090 hours a year, much higher than the OECD average of 1,776 hours.

They also have 33 micrograms per cubic meter of atmospheric PM10 — tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and damage the lungs — which is considerably higher than the OECD average of 21 micrograms.

#9: Portugal

(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Average household disposable income: €14,850

There is a big gap between the richest and poorest people in Portugal: The top 20 per cent of the population earn six times as much as the bottom 20 per cent.

Only 32 per cent of Portuguese adults aged 25-64 have finished the equivalent of secondary school, and the voter turnout in recent elections was as low as 58 per cent.

#8: Hungary

(Eye Ubiquitous/Press Association Images)

Average household disposable income: €10,626

Just 58 per cent of people aged 15 to 64 have a paid job in Hungary, even though 81 per cent of adults have earned the equivalent of a high school degree.

Life expectancy at birth is 75 years (5 years lower than the OECD average), and 69 per cent of Hungarians say they have more positive experiences in an average day than negative ones.

#7: Greece

(AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

Average household disposable income: €15,673

In Greece, 65 per cent of adults aged 25-64 have finished seondary school, and the average student scored 473 on the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment test (far below the average of 497).

Though their life expectancy is above the OECD average, they have a high level of atmospheric PM10 at 31 micrograms per cubic meter.

#6: Estonia

(Eye Uniquitous/Press Association Images)

Average household disposable income: €9,815

Estonia has made progress over the last decade improving quality of life for their citizens by bolstering its education system.

Their voter turnout, however, still remains below the OECD average at 64 per cent, and only 69 per cent of the population say they have more positive experiences in an average day than negative ones.

They also have one of the lowest average household disposable incomes on the list.

#5: Russia

(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Average household disposable income: €11,721

The average life expectancy at birth in Russia is 70 years, well below the OECD average of 80.

The voter turnout is Russia in recent years was 65 per cent, below the OECD average of 72 per cent.

#4: Brazil

(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Average household disposable income: €17,672

Despite reportedly high levels of overall satisfaction with their lives, Brazilians do not perform well on the OECD scale.

68 per cent of people aged 15 to 64 have a paid job in Brazil, with 12 per cent of employees working extremely long hours. And only 41 per cent of Brazilians have finished secondary school.

3. Chile

(AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Average household disposable income: €8,470

Chile has the lowest average household disposable income at only €8,470 annually. There’s a huge gap between the richest and poorest, with the top 20 per cent earning 13 times as much as the bottom 20 per cent.

Chileans also have extremely high level of atmospheric PM10 (which causes lung damage) at 53 micrograms per cubic meter — over 30 micrograms higher than the OECD average.

#2: Mexico

(AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Average household disposable income: €9,769

Despite tremendous progress over the last decade, Mexico is still one of the worst developed countries on the OECD list.

Only 60 per cent of people aged 15 to 64 have a paid job, and those that do work approximately 2,250 hours a year, much higher than the OECD average of 1,776.

And despite improvements in education, still only 36 per cent of Mexicans have finished secondary school.

#1: Turkey

(AP Photo)

Average household disposable income: €17,676

For the second year in the row, Turkey is at the bottom of the OECD list by a long shot.

31 per cent of its population has the equivalent of a high school degree, and 48 per cent of people have a paid job — some of the worst numbers on the list.

Plus, only 68 per cent of Turkey citizens say they have more positive experience in an average day than negative ones.

Read: 13 things we learned from the CSO’s new ‘quality of life’ data >

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