How’s life in Australia?—international comparison

Australia performs very well against many measures of wellbeing, compared with most other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development‘s (OECD) ‘Better Life Index’. We are number 1 (top ranked) for civic engagement, and are above average in income and wealth, environmental quality, health status, housing, jobs and earnings, education and skills, subjective wellbeing, and social connections. However we do not perform well in work-life balance and are in the worst third for working very long hours.

In the housing category, Australia is in the middle third of OECD countries for dwellings without basic facilities, and the best third for housing expenditure and rooms per person. In the income category, Australia is in the best third of OECD countries for household net adjusted disposable income, and the middle third for household net financial wealth. In the jobs category, Australia is in the middle third of OECD countries for job security and employment rate, and the best third for long-term unemployment rate and personal earnings. In the community category, Australia is in the best third of OECD countries for quality of support network. In the education category, Australia is in the middle third of OECD countries for educational attainment, and the best third for student skills and years in education. In the environment category, Australia is in the best third of OECD countries for air pollution and water quality. In the civic engagement category, Australia is in the best third of OECD countries for stakeholder engagement for developing regulations and voter turnout. In the health category, Australia is in the best third of OECD countries for life expectancy and self-reported health. In the life satisfaction category, Australia is in the best third of OECD countries. In the safety category, Australia is in the lowest third of OECD countries for feeling safe walking home at night, and the middle third for homicide rate. In the work-life balance category, Australia is in the lowest third of OECD countries for employees working very long hours, and time devoted to leisure and personal care.

Source: OECD Better Life Index

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