Straight to content

Australia remains the ‘lucky country’

Back to front page

Australia remains the ‘lucky country’
The credit crisis has hit Australians hard, with the average person’s wealth falling by $12,100 to $237,000 in the last nine months (as at November 2008), as a result of declining property and share markets. This reduction has been greater for people with a large asset base.

The drop in wealth highlights the impact of the global financial crisis, but its not all bad news.

The 2008 index, produced by Dubai-based research house Legatum, measured 104 nations against levels of wealth, quality of life, and life satisfaction and our economic stability and high quality of life has earned Australia the title of most prosperous nation.

Legatum stated “The ‘lucky country’ has reinvented itself as a wealthy service-oriented economy, currently benefiting from the rise of China and the global boom in commodities.”

The index scored Australia as strong in areas of health, innovation and entrepreneurship, equal opportunity, environment, health, low unemployment, high quality family life and religious freedom. You only have to sit outside on a warm summer’s day to appreciate all the good things we have in Australian life.

Australia topped the list, with Austria and Finland coming in second and third, followed by Germany, Singapore, the US and Switzerland.


Did you know?
The ‘lucky country’ is a nickname used to describe Australia, taken from the 1964 book of the same name by Donald Horne. It has no one particular meaning, but is generally used favorably in reference to Australia's natural resources, weather, history, distance from problems elsewhere in the world and other sorts of prosperity.

Back to front page