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Quality of Life in Australia

Quality of life is a difficult measure to determine; many factors affect an average person's capacity to live in any given place such as crime, access to healthcare, political stability, infrastructure and that is without taking into account any significant personal circumstances, of which everyone has.

Human Development Index

The Human Development Index (HDI) is one of the most widely respected and quoted measurements of a country's development in terms of quality of life for the average person. While countries such as China have rapidly developed in recent years, the quality of life for most people remains relatively low.

The United Nations Development Programme carries out the most widely used Human Development Index and takes into account the following conditions:

• Life expectancy
• Literacy rate
• Education standards
• Child welfare
• Gross National Income (GNI) per capita
• Standard of living determined by GDP per capita

The most recent HDI was published in 2011 and ranked Australia second in the world, behind only Norway.

Human Development Index 2011

Source: UN Development Programme

Rights

All Australians are guaranteed the following rights:

• Respect for equal worth, dignity and freedom of the individual
• Freedom of speech and association
• Freedom of religion and a secular government
• Support for parliamentary democracy and the rule of law
• Equality under the law
• Equality of men and women
• Equality of opportunity
• Peacefulness