A recent quality of life ranking published by international cost of living database Numbeo has placed the Netherlands in the number one spot, beating out tough competition from the likes of Denmark and Switzerland. 

Numbeo Quality of Life Index 2023

Numbeo’s annual ranking offers “an estimation of overall quality of life” across the 84 countries included in the study. The Quality of Life index takes a number of different factors into account, including: 

• Purchasing power 
• Pollution levels 
• How house prices compare to salaries
• Cost of living
• Safety levels 
• The healthcare system 
• Traffic levels and the average commute length 
• Climate / Weather

A country’s performance across each of these eight areas is then used to determine an overall score.

European countries dominate the top of this year’s ranking, claiming eight out of the top 10 positions. While the Netherlands can celebrate claiming the number one position, Denmark and Switzerland are hot on its heels and round out the top three. Meanwhile, occupying the bottom positions are Venezuela, Bangladesh, and Nigeria.

The Netherlands claims top spot in international quality of life ranking

While the Netherlands generally does tend to do quite well when it comes to these kinds of rankings, it’s rare that the country manages to beat out its Scandinavian neighbours to claim the top spot. But this year, the Netherlands managed to rise through the ranks, swapping its third-place position in 2022 for the top spot in 2023. 

The Netherlands achieved an overall score of 196,7, performing particularly well when it came to average commute times (7th place), purchasing power (8th place), and the healthcare system (10th place). In fact, the Netherlands managed to place in the top 30 across all factors - but its poorest score was definitely (and perhaps unsurprisingly) for its weather (30th place).

Interestingly, Dutch cities also performed well in Numbeo's separate city ranking, with The Hague and Eindhoven claiming the top two spots, and Rotterdam managing to secure a place in the top 10. Cities included in the study were assessed across the same eight areas, and both The Hague and Eindhoven managed to achieve scores above the national average in almost all categories.

Top 10 countries offering the best quality of life 

According to the ranking, the 10 countries around the world offering the highest quality of life are:

1. The Netherlands 
2. Denmark
3. Switzerland
4. Luxembourg
5. Finland
6. Iceland
7. Austria
8. Oman
9. Australia
10. Norway

For the full ranking, visit Numbeo’s website.

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