Photographs: Toby Melville/Reuters
The OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - has ranked countries that provide the highest quality of life.
Let's take a look at some of these nations.
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: A shopping complex in Melbourne.Photographs: Mick Tsikas/Reuters
Australia
Average household disposable income: $28,884
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn six times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 73 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,693 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 1
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: A view of Stockholm, Sweden.Photographs: Ints Kalnins/Reuters
Sweden
Average household disposable income: $26,242
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn four times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 74 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,644 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 2
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: A worker cleans away snow around the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada.Photographs: Christopher Pike/Reuters
Canada
Average household disposable income: $28,194
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn five times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 72 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,702 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 3
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: The Royal Palace is seen at the end of Karl Johans Gate in Oslo, Norway.Photographs: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters
Norway
Average household disposable income: $31,459
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn four times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 75 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,426 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 4
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: People walk on Zurich's main shopping street Bahnhofstrasse.Photographs: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters
Switzerland
Average household disposable income: $30,060
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn five times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 79 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,632 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 5
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: A view of Boston, Massachusetts.Photographs: Brian Snyder/Reuters
The United States
Average household disposable income: $38,001
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn eight times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 67 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,787 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 6
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: Cars travel along the Oresund Bridge. The bridge, which links the city of Malmo in Sweden to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, has a total length of 7,845m.Photographs: Yves Herman/Reuters
Denmark
Average household disposable income: $24,682
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn four times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 73 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,522 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 7
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: Cyclists visit a Dutch tulip field in Noordwijk.Photographs: Michael Kooren/Reuters
The Netherlands
Average household disposable income: $25,493
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn five times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 75 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,379 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 8
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: People walk past Harpa Concert Hall in downtown Reykjavik, Iceland.Photographs: Ingolfur Juliusson/Reuters
Iceland
Average household disposable income: $23,047
Income inequality: N/A
Employment: 79 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,732 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 9
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: Pedestrian cross the diagonal crossing at Oxford Circus in London.Photographs: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
The United Kingdom
Average household disposable income: $26,904
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn six times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 70 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,625 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 10
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: People cross a street after rainfall in central Auckland.Photographs: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
New Zealand
Average household disposable income: $21,892
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn five times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 73 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,762 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 11
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: Visitors walk down the main street at Moomin World theme park in Naatali, Finland.Photographs: Bob Strong/Reuters
Finland
Average household disposable income: $25,739
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn four times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 69 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,684 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 12
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: A view of Vienna International Center and UN headquarters in Vienna.Photographs: Herwig Prammer/Reuters
Austria
Average household disposable income: $28,852
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn four times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 72 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,600 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 13
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: A woman reads during a sunny day in the city of Luxembourg.Photographs: Francois Lenoir/Reuters
Luxembourg
Average household disposable income: $23,047
Income inequality: N/A
Employment: 65 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,776 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 14
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15 countries providing highest quality of life
Image: A woman cycles past the 'Coffee To Get Her' restaurant near Dublin city centre, which becomes a bar and club in the evenings.Photographs: Cathal McNaughton/Reuters
Ireland
Average household disposable income: $24,104
Income inequality: Top 20 per cent earn five times as much as the bottom 20 per cent
Employment: 60 per cent have a paid job
Work hours: 1,543 hours a year
Global rank in quality of life: 15
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