Israel has secured the No. 18 ranking on this year's Human Development Index, a United Nations tool that measures world economies. The index uses a number of parameters to rank the quality of life in various countries. This year, Israel came out ahead of Japan (ranked 20th), Belgium (21), France (22), Austria (23), Finland (24), Slovenia (25), Spain (26), and Italy (27). The country that earned the top ranking for its quality of life was Norway, followed by Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore. Many of the countries ranked below Israel have a per capita gross domestic product that is higher than Israel's. According to the index, for example, the per capita GDP in Israel stands at $30,600, compared to Belgium, with $41,200. However, per capita GDP is only part of the equation. The index also examines the number of years of education; the number of infant mortalities during birth; and the number of years of education predicted for children of the next generation. The countries ranked last on the index were Nigeria, followed by other African countries like Eritrea (186), Chad (185), and Burundi (184). Most Middle East nations were not given high rankings, with Egypt at 108 on the index; Jordan at 80; and Lebanon at 67. Iran was ranked 69th. The Palestinian Authority, considered a country by the U.N., was ranked 113th, between Paraguay and Uzbekistan. China was assigned the 90th place on the index, but Hong Kong, an autonomous entity within China, was ranked 12th on the index, several places above Israel.
