UK is best place in the world to die

Updated
The UK Is the Best Place in the World to Die
The UK Is the Best Place in the World to Die


The United Kingdom has officially been named the best place in the world to die.

The Economist Intelligence Unit did a study of end of life care in 80 countries around the world, and the UK ranked highest out of everyone.

The UK ranking was based on the nation's comprehensive national policies, strong hospice care and deep community engagement on the issue - among other criteria.

Australia and New Zealand took second and third place, closely followed by Ireland and Belgium. The United States and Canada had to make do with 9th and 11th place in this year's rankings.

Despite having one of the largest economies in the world, China was way back in 71st place.

According to the EIU, China's low placement can be attributed to the severe demand and supply gap between need and availability of services.

Life expectancy in the UK is currently 82.6 for women and 78.7 for men, the ONS reports.

Although the UK may be the best place in the world to die, earlier this year Switzerland was named as the best place to grow old. A total of 96 countries were ranked against each other in Help Age International's Global AgeWatch Index, with the UK only getting to tenth place this year.

Seven of the top 10 spots went to European countries including: Norway, Sweden, Germany, Iceland, the UK and the Netherlands.

All of these countries are known for their universal healthcare and ageing populations.

Currently 12.3% of the global population are over 60 and this number is expected to double by 2050.



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