Switzerland is the world’s best country to grow old in, while the UK falls into 10th place

Home to chocolate, cheese, and one of the world’s most robust economies, Switzerland is the country where old people enjoy the highest quality of life, according to a study from the University of Southampton.

 

By scoring 96 countries on a number of well-being factors for the over-60s, the researchers found that the top of the list was dominated by Western European nations in general, with Norway and Sweden falling into second and third place, respectively. The UK, meanwhile, came in at number 10. 

 

 

In fact, there were only three non-European countries among the top 10 – Canada in fifth place, the Japan in eighth place and the US in ninth place. 

 

The four key areas looked at were income, health, education, employment and pleasantness of environment, and the study spanned 91 per cent of the planet's old population. 

Not all of Europe fared so well, however – Greece, with its economy in turmoil, fell very near the bottom of the entire list in 79th place. Turkey also came low in 75th place. 

 

The bottom 10 was dominated by African countries, with some other countries making an appearance including war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan, which was ranked the worst country of all for old people to live in. 

 

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This Index is vital in representing the lives of older people in countries around the world as it enables us to compare not just their pension income and health but also the age friendly environments in which they live. 

 

The Index has also shown that a number of countries still lack vital statistics of older people and we would like to see them feature in the report in the future.