For the third consecutive year, Australia has been ranked as the world's happiest nation among developed economies.
Australia was followed by Sweden, Canada, Norway and Switzerland in the Better Life Index compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
OECD created the "Your Better Life Index" to support policy making to improve the quality of life.
The Index was compiled after a survey to find how countries perform according to the importance its people give to each of 11 topics -- community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, housing, income, jobs, life satisfaction, safety, work-life balance -- that contribute to well-being.
The Index currently profiles the 34 OECD member-countries as well as key partners Brazil and Russia across the 11 topics of well-being, representing the world's major economies. The Index contains an overall description of the quality of life in each country, followed by its performance across the 24 individual indicators that make up the 11 topics of well-being. The Index also compares life for men and women, and for those at the top and bottom of the social and economic ladder.
"Australia performs exceptionally well in measures of well-being, as shown by the fact that it ranks among the top countries in a large number of topics in the Better Life Index," OECD said on its website.
In Australia, the average household net-adjusted disposable income is $28,884 a year, more than the OECD average of $23,047 a year. But there is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest - the top 20 percent of the population earn six times as much as the bottom 20 percent.
In terms of employment, over 73 percent of people aged 15 and 64 in Australia have a paid job, above the OECD employment average of 66 percent. People in Australia work 1,693 hours a year, less than most people in the OECD.
Seventy-three percent of Australians aged 25-64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, close to the OECD average of 74 percent. Australia is nonetheless a top-performing country in terms of the quality of its educational system, and one of the strongest OECD countries in students' skills. On an average in Australia, girls outperformed boys by nine points.
In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Australia is almost 82 years, two years higher than the OECD average. Australia also does well in terms of water quality and air purity.
There is a strong sense of community and high levels of civic participation in Australia, where 94 percent of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, higher than the OECD average of 90 percent. Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens' participation in the political process, was 93 percent during recent elections; this figure is the highest in the OECD where the average is 72 percent.
In general, Australians are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, with 84 percent 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). This figure is higher than the OECD average of 80 percent.
OECD says it will eventually include other key OECD partner countries -- China, India, Indonesia and South Africa - in the Better Life Index.
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