Survey: Finland is the world's greenest country

Friday, October 5, 2007 

A new survey into the world's greenest and most livable countries has concluded that out of 141 countries reviewed, Finland is the greenest.

Some of the top 20, in order, were Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Australia, Uruguay, Denmark, Canada, Japan, Israel, Italy, Slovenia, France, Netherlands, Portugal, New Zealand and Greece. The poorest results went to African countries, which dominated the bottom of the table, with Ethiopia coming in last place.

"Finland wins high marks for air and water quality, a low incidence of infant disease and how well it protects citizens from water pollution and natural disasters," commented the study. Other factors taken into account when ranking the countries included quality of education and income level.

Some other results were the United Kingdom at 25th, the United States at 23rd and China at 84.

The study also looked at individual cities. Of the 72 examined, Stockholm came out on top, followed in order by Oslo, Munich and Paris. A total of four German cities were ranked in the top ten — Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Dusseldorf — and French cities Lyon and Nantes joined Paris in the top ten as well. New York came in at 15th and London at 27th. At the bottom end were mainly Asian cities, with Beijing's air pollution problems earning it the lowest spot in the table. Guangzhou and Shanghai were also near the bottom.

Sources

• "Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living" — Reuters, October 5, 2007
• Annabella Bulacan. "Finland Ranks As World's Most Livable Country; Beijing Is Dirtiest City" — allheadlinenews.com, October 5, 2007
• "It's official! Ireland really is green" — U.TV, October 5, 2007