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25 Countries with The Highest Standard of Living in 2023

Afifa Mushtaque
12 min read

In This Article:

In this article, we will look at the 25 countries with the highest standards of living in 2023. You can skip our detailed analysis and head straight to the list of 10 Countries With the Highest Standard of Living in 2023.

To judge the quality of life for any country, the standard of living is one of the key indicators to look out for. While various factors contribute to the standard of living, like social services, education, and healthcare, it is often economic stability that is considered a major determinant. In this article, we will explore countries with the highest standard of living in 2023 and the study factors that contributed to their success.

Deteriorating Global Economic Crises

Living conditions in 90% of the world's countries worsened in 2021, according to the UN Development Program (UNDP). Moreover, the Human Development Index (HDI), which evaluates a country's health, education, and living standards, has witnessed a global decrease in these factors for the first time in its 32-year history. 

The trend has been observed for two consecutive years, particularly affecting regions such as Latin America, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. As a result, progress towards the 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals has been significantly reversed, with human development levels regressing to those of 2016.

In 2022, the economy of Europe and Central Asia witnessed a significant decline in their growth rate fueled by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, rising inflation, and the tightening of monetary policy and financial conditions that severely impacted private consumption, investment, and trade. Moreover, the increased food and energy prices resulted in inflation rates reaching levels never observed in the last two decades.

For 2023, the anticipated growth rate of regional output for Europe and Central Asia has increased to 1.4%, much higher than the last forecast of 0.1%. The economy in the region has been observing a positive trend, although it remains severely affected. 

The improvement may have been caused by the less severe contraction of the Russian economy with a stronger and prosperous outlook for Ukraine. The region's average growth rate is expected to reach 2.7% over 2024-25, as inflation gradually subsides, domestic demand improves, and the external economic environment recovers.

Countries around the globe, developed or developing, face grave economic challenges that directly affect their living standards. According to the World Bank's estimates, Turkiye was hit by two severe earthquakes on February 6, 2023, which caused direct damages amounting to around $34.2 billion, equivalent to 4% of the country's 2021 GDP. 

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