BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, SEPTEMBER 8TH 2005 - St. Kitts & Nevis remains the highest-ranking country in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and has maintained the second best place to live in the Caribbean.
The twin-island Federation is listed at number 49 among 177 countries of the world in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index Report.
Barbados, which leads the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, is ranked at number 30 followed by St. Kitts and Nevis in second place at 49. St. Kitts and Nevis and Barbados are among only five CARICOM states in the top 57 HDI rank.
The Bahamas is ranked at number 50, Cuba is at 52 and Trinidad and Tobago at 57.
In the CARICOM Community, Antigua and Barbuda is at 60 and heads the Medium Human Development group. Grenada is ranked 66. Dominica is at 70. St. Lucia is ranked 76. St. Vincent and the Grenadines remains at 87; Belize, 91; Jamaica, is ranked 98 and Guyana is ranked 107.
In other Latin America rankings, Chile is at 37; Uruguay, 46; Costa Rica, 47; Mexico, 53; Panama 56 and Venezuela at 75.
In the 2005 Report, Norway retained its No. 1 ranking and remains the best country in the world to live. Iceland is ranked No. 2, compared to No. 7 last year; Australia remains at No. 3; Luxembourg ranked No. 4 this year, compared to 15 last year; Canada is ranked at No. 5, compared to No. 4 last year; Sweden is ranked No. 6 this year, compared to No. 2 last year and Switzerland is ranked No. 7 this year, compared to No. 11 last year.
Belgium is ranked No. 9 this year, compared to No. 6 last year and the United States is ranked No. 10 this year, compared to No. 8 last year.
The UN Human Development Report measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development, namely a long and healthy life measured by life expectancy at birth, knowledge as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined gross enrolment for primary, secondary and tertiary level educational institutions, and decent standard of living, measured in terms of Gross Domestic Product per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) US dollars.
