Fruits Of Empire - Britain Worst Place To Live In "Developed" World

[Joe]

Is Britain the worst place to grow up?

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=238832007

BRITAIN is the worst place to grow up in the developed world, according to the first study of its kind.

Wide-ranging research released by UNICEF today reveals the UK lags behind countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary in a league table assessing children's wellbeing.

It highlighted that the UK is struggling in terms of relative poverty and deprivation, the quality of children's relationships with their parents and peers, education and young people's own sense of wellbeing, as well as their behaviour and risk-taking.

Academics compared 40 indicators to compile the snapshot of life for children in 30 industrialised nations. The review put the UK in the bottom third in five of the six "dimensions" measured. It fared best in the category examining health and safety - finishing 15th out of 25 countries.

The UNICEF report described the UK's performance as a "shocking" result for one of the richest countries examined. Professor Jonathan Bradshaw, one of the authors, said: "It's a depressing picture for the UK. I think there's a belief that things are much better than they are. Across the board, we're not doing well for our children."

Britain was ranked worse than average in rates of teenage pregnancy, smoking, obesity, drug and alcohol use, physical violence, bullying and daily access to fruit. The study also revealed that 22.6 per cent of Britons aged 11, 13 and 15 in 2001 said they were either in "poor or fair" health - compared with a mean result of 14.1 per cent.

It revealed that only 43.3 per cent of Britons in the same category found their peers "kind and helpful" - compared with 65.6 per cent overall in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

And 35.3 per cent of Britons aged 15 in 2003 admitted they aspired to low-skilled work - compared with 27.5 per cent overall and just 14.4 per cent in the United States. Child wellbeing was at its highest in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. [...]

The report also highlighted that only 66.7 per cent of British 15-year-olds said they ate with their parents several times each week - compared with 79.4 per cent overall. Prof Bradshaw said that figure suggested a "lesser importance of the family unit" in the UK than elsewhere in the developed world.

The study revealed that 16.2 per cent of British children were growing up in relative poverty - significantly higher than the 11.2 per cent mean figure. [...]

This doesn't exactly come as a surprise. When it gets to the point where official reports are being written, it is probably a lot worse that the reports ever tell.

Joe

 

[Peto]

This reminds me of the Happy Planet Index, an index that measures human well being level relative to the environmental impact. It was making round in Singapore last year because it placed Singapore at the bottom in Asia. On the other hand, Vietnam, a much poorer country and also where I grew up, is at the top of the list for Asia. Although the article below is rationalizing about it, from my experience in the two countries, it is very true that the more entrenched in the capitalist system a country is, the less happy and more zombie-like its people are.

Singapore's world rankings

http://www.littlespeck.com/content/lifestyle/CTrendsLifestyle-060724.htm

[...] It was a British-based report that not only described Singapore as Asia's unhappiest nation, but also graded it the 131st of 178 nations in the world.

The Happy Planet Index, compiled by the British think-tank New Economics Foundation (NEF), named the top 10 countries as follows: Vanuatu, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Panama, Cuba, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Vietnam is Asia's top ranking. Britain came in at 108th while the US ranked worst than Singapore - at 150th. [...]

Be that as it may, the index has cranked up much head-nodding among people who agree that Singaporeans are an unhappy lot despite their comparative wealth.

"Look at the MRT commuters and workers at Shenton Way with their long, sour faces."

Ironically, the government was appealing to the citizens to greet visiting delegates of the IMF-World Bank meeting due in September with "four million smiles". A tough act to achieve!

What's the problem? Everyone has his pet reason, ranging from "unbearable" pressures of life to overly high expectations to an incurable national trait of excessive worrying - in good times or bad.

Social trends leave people unsmiling; divorce is rising and there is an average of one suicide a day.

"Most Singaporeans don't know how to be happy. Either they are struggling or, if they're not, they are worried about something or other," someone commented. Its small size magnifies these potentials.

Humour has long become a casualty to the unceasing reminders by the authorities to work hard or suffer the consequences.

Costs are always rising, unemployment dole doesn't exist and besides, the leaders - straight-laced people who are unable to laugh at themselves - also set the tone for the country.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong quipped, "We even take our fun seriously."

One cynic described Singapore as "a Disneyland without the laughter", where humour is not allowed, referring to a blogger whose newspaper column was banned because he wrote a satire piece on the rising cost of living.

 

[Vulcan59]

Hi hoangmphung, I was born and bred in Singapore and eventually decided to move here to NZ about 2 years ago. And I agree with the above report. But at the end of the day, the C's are right again when they stated, "It's not where you are but who you are and what you see that matters"

 

[Peto]

Hi Vulcan59. You are right. I understand that no place in this 3D world is "perfect". So I just accept it and continue the work on myself.