Koreans in general are less content with their living standards than most of the people in the other OECD member nations.
The OECD released the Better Life Index 2014, which consists of 11 evaluation items, on May 8 (local time). According to the data, Korea recorded 6.0 points in the Life Satisfaction category, while the category average was 6.6 for the 36 surveyees including the 34 OCED member countries, Russia and Brazil.
Korea ranked 25th in this section, followed by Italy, Slovenia, and Japan. Switzerland, Norway, and Denmark were on top of the list with scores of 7.8, 7.7 and 7.6 respectively. Spain, which went through a severe fiscal crisis recently, was right ahead of Korea.
In the Work-Life Balance section, Korea ranked 34th out of the 36 countries, followed by only Mexico and Turkey. The OECD attributed the low rank to the annual average working hours of 2,090, which is far longer than the OECD average of 1,765.
The Better Life Index measures the nation-specific level of living standards by assessing the 11 items of housing, income, employment, community activities, education, environment, civic participation, health, life satisfaction, safety and security, and work-life balance. The first Better Life Index was released in 2011.
Korea is in the upper ranks in education, civic participation, and safety and security, while remaining below average in the sections such as life satisfaction, work-life balance, health, environment, and income.