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Friday August 13, 2004

Israel gets grudging praise from a new source: U.N.

by liat collins

Now and again even the United Nations has to say something nice about Israel. Israel has for the second year running made it to the fairly flattering 22nd spot in the latest annual U.N. Human Development Report.

The report — published mid-July but it’s never too late for nachas — ranks the countries of the world according to the quality of life of their citizens.

The survey covers 177 countries and is based in part on the U.N. human development index, which examines income per capita, general education, life expectancy, health care, equality for women, income disparities, consumption and other criteria. The data applies to 2002.

And even though the milk occasionally tastes sour and the honey makes a sticky mess, this is still paradise — at least compared with most African countries. (Poor Sierra Leone ranked the miserable lowest.) In fact, Israel’s quality of life is not bad even by European standards (we beat Greece and Portugal).

The top spot went (for the fourth consecutive year) to Norway, which, of course has the advantage of having Sweden (second spot) as its neighbor.

From the U.N.’s point of view, statistically speaking, Israel is somewhere between Italy (21) and Hong Kong (23). (The United States ranked eighth.)

Our neighbors are far from being Scandinavians: Lebanon came in at 80, Jordan 90, the Palestinian Authority 102, Syria 106 and Egypt 120. So who says the grass on the other side is always greener?

Israel’s adult literacy rate was 95.3 percent, and the combined enrollment in all levels of education was 92 percent — equaling the U.S. figure and besting France, which had a rate of 91 percent.

And Israelis are big talkers, second only to Luxembourg in mobile phone usage — 955 cell phones per 1,000 people compared to Luxembourg’s 1,016 per 1,000. In Eritrea, by comparison, there is not even one mobile phone registered for that number of residents.

Lines for the doctor might be long here, but so is life expectancy: An Israeli newborn can expect to live 79.2 years, placing us in the joint sixth spot for life expectancy with Australians (although Israelis don’t die of boredom). The Japanese can expect to live an average of 82 years, but a baby born today in Zambia shouldn’t plan past his 32nd birthday. In general, life expectancy on the African continent is 40, when Israelis are barely dealing with the luxury of a midlife crisis.

Israel’s gross domestic product per person was $19,530, giving it a ranking of 27th. The average Israeli takes a holiday abroad once a year; is a home-owner by the age most Africans are being buried; has a car, television and a fridge with food in it; and at least half a room of living space to call his own.

So, statistically, it’s difficult to figure out why we spend so much time complaining.

Perhaps we could learn something from the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, ranked 134th in this year’s report: It has been trying to persuade the world to abandon the GDP as a factor in favor of GNH, gross national happiness.

Liat Collins is a columnist for The Jerusalem Post, where this column previously appeared.

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