Sweden is the healthiest country in Europe, Britain slips to tenth place
Moscow has reacted frostily to Sweden’s decision to abandon two centuries of military non-alliance – Copyright AFP Asnaya Chou
A new study has shown that Sweden is it healthiest country in Europe. The research of Snuff shop have analyzed several factors, including the proportion of the population that smokes, obesity and life expectancy. Also included in the assessment are liters of alcohol drunk per year, per capita, the proportion of the population reporting chronic depression and the number of doctors per 1,000 people.
The dataset shows:
Rank | Country | % of smokers | Obesity percentage | Life expectancy | Liters of alcohol consumed per capita per year | % Report chronic depression | Doctors per 1000 people | % of insufficient physical activity | Health outcomes |
1 | Sweden | 6.4 | 20.6 | 83 | 7.5 | 11.7 | 4.3 | 23.13 | 48.53 |
2 | Finland | 9.9 | 22.2 | 82 | 8.2 | 5.6 | 3.5 | 16.56 | 47.37 |
3 | Moldova | 25.3 | 18.9 | 72 | 7.5 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 13.5 | 45.40 |
4 | Belarus | 30.5 | 24.5 | 73 | 11.4 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 14.1 | 45.11 |
5 | Norway | 10.2 | 23.1 | 83 | 7.4 | 8 | 4.9 | 31.7 | 44.35 |
6 | Iceland | 7.5 | 21.9 | 82 | 7.4 | 15.6 | 3.9 | 27.9 | 44.29 |
7 | Switzerland | 25.5 | 19.5 | 84 | 8.9 | 5 | 4.3 | 23.75 | 43.77 |
8 | France | 17.8 | 21.6 | 83 | 10.4 | 7.7 | 6.5 | 29.3 | 43.63 |
9 | Belgium | 14.6 | 22.1 | 82 | 9.2 | 7.3 | 6.0 | 35.75 | 43.19 |
10 | UK | 15.8 | 27.8 | 82 | 9.7 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 35.86 | 42.96 |
Each country received a score out of 10 for each factor, which was then summed to give a health index score. The higher the score, the healthier the country. The top three nations were found to be:
Sweden
Sweden ranks as one of the highest in terms of quality of life and the new data also show that Sweden is one of the healthiest countries. The country has the lowest number of smokers in Europe, Sweden also has the second highest life expectancy at 83 and one of the lowest obesity rates. Low obesity rates can be attributed to the low levels of physical inactivity and the fact that Swedes drink less than much of Europe.
Health Index – 48.53
Finland
Finland also has very low rates of smoking, with less than 10 percent of the population smoking. Like its Scandinavian neighbors, Finland also has low obesity rates and high life expectancy (82). Finns are also some of the most physically active, with only 16 percent of the population being insufficiently active.
Health Index – 47.37
Moldova
Moldova is the third healthiest country; this is due to its low obesity rate, which is the second lowest in Europe. These low levels can be reduced to the proportion of the population that is insufficiently active.
In tenth placeand badly placed, is Great Britain. The smoking rate in the UK is 15 per cent, which is lower than in much of Europe, but the UK has a higher obesity rate of 27 per cent, reflecting a high proportion of the population who are insufficiently active. Despite this, the average life expectancy is 82 years, which is one of the highest.
Health Index – 42.96
With the healthier nations, there is more activity, less smoking and drinking and thus, in most cases, lower levels of depression.