En esta noticia
Uruguay was positioned as the country with the best quality of life in Latin America and surpassed China and Russia in Numbeo‘s international ranking, a platform that measures well-being based on variables such as income, safety, health, and environment. The result places a small nation above two global powers.
The Quality of Life Index is a tool that various organizations and platforms use to assess a population’s well-being. It combines factors such as health, cost of living, pollution, climate, and safety, and allows countries to be compared directly.
Why does Uruguay surpass China and Russia in quality of life?
The Numbeo index establishes a relationship between income, cost of living, traffic, climate, safety, health, and pollution. In the world ranking, the Netherlands tops the list, while Uruguay leads among Latin American countries and ranks ahead of China and Russia.
UNDP data reinforce that position. Between 1990 and 2023, Uruguay recorded sustained progress that explains the improvement in its well-being:
- Life expectancy: increased by 5.14 years.
- Expected schooling: increased by 4.52 years.
- Per capita income: rose by more than 110%.
Those advances translated into a 20.9% increase in its Human Development Index (HDI) during that period.
Which Latin American countries have the best quality of life?
According to Numbeo’s ranking, Uruguay leads the region, followed by other countries that also show good quality-of-life indicators in Latin America:
- Uruguay
- Ecuador
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Chile
Its capital, Montevideo, is among the safest and most livable cities on the continent, with high levels of civil freedom and good environmental quality. Added to this are its sustainable development, clean energy, and clear rules: for many foreigners, that state predictability weighs even more than the cost of living.