Canada is the healthiest country in the world to live, according to a new global ranking.



An analysis by the Global Wellness Index published by investment firm LetterOne ranks Canada as the best country for health out of 151 nations evaluated. The neighbouring U.S. trails far behind, coming in at number 37. In a tighter ranking of G-20 nations combined with the 20 most populous countries on the planet, South Africa comes in dead last, below Ukraine, Egypt and Iraq.



Based on a basket of metrics ranging from government healthcare spending to rates of depression, alcohol use, smoking, happiness and exercise, the new index is the latest attempt by economists to evaluate the world beyond pure economic growth. Last month, Bloomberg’s own research named Spain the world’s healthiest country.



A common thread in both surveys is that the top ranks are increasingly filled with smaller countries in terms of population. This may be tied to researchers developing new metrics for the modern world, measures that don’t necessarily correlate economic health with actual health—let alone wellness—at the expense of other, more nuanced barometers.



The global top 10 includes the Philippines, South Korea, Oman, Iceland, Maldives, the Netherlands and Singapore. The United Kingdom was ranked 15th, held back by high rates of obesity and inactivity. Countries such as Japan, Germany, France and Italy failed to make the news survey’s global top 25, with all four faring poorly for rates of high blood pressure. Middle Eastern countries ranked relatively high due to good scores in the alcohol category. The U.S. was hampered by excessive obesity, depression and high rates of inactivity.



The Global Wellness Index focuses on 10 key metrics: blood pressure, blood glucose, obesity, depression, happiness, alcohol use, tobacco use, exercise, healthy life expectancy and government spending on health-care. Data was gleaned from standard sources including the World Health Organization’s Global Health Observatory and the United Nations, as well as public health data.



















