Quick Facts from the OECD Better Life Index
- Ranks above the average in many dimensions: housing, work-life balance, social connections, environmental quality, civic engagement, education and skills, jobs and earnings, work-life balance, health status, subjective well-being and personal security.
- Average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD $33,774/year, higher than the OECD average of USD $30,490/year. There is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn nearly four times as much as the bottom 20%.
- 74% of people aged 15 to 64 in Denmark have a paid job, above the OECD employment average of 66%. Some 77%
of men are in paid work, compared with 71% of women. In Denmark, only 1% of employees work very long hours, less
than the OECD average of 10%. 2% of men work very long hours compared with 0% of women.
- 82% of adults aged 25-64 have completed upper secondary education, higher than the OECD average of 79%. This is truer for women than men, as 80% of men have successfully completed high-school compared with 83% of women. In terms of education quality, the average student score is 501 in reading literacy, math and science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This score is slightly higher than the OECD average of 488. On average in Denmark, girls outperformed boys by 9 points, which is above the OECD average gap of 5 points.
- Life expectancy at birth in Denmark is 82 years, one year higher than the OECD average of 81 years. Life expectancy for women is 86 years, compared with 79 for men.
- Level of atmospheric PM2.5 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 10 micrograms per cubic meter, lower than the OECD average of 14 micrograms per cubic meter.
- Water quality: 93% of people say they are satisfied with the quality of their water, more than the OECD average of 84%.
- Strong sense of community and high levels of civic participation in Denmark, where 95% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, more than the OECD average of 91%, and one of the highest figures in the OECD. Voter turnout, a measure of citizens’ participation in the political process, was 85% during recent elections; considerably higher than the OECD average of 69%.
- Voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is an estimated 87% and for the bottom 20% it is an estimated 83%, a much smaller gap than the OECD average gap of 13 percentage points, and suggests broad social inclusion in Denmark’s democratic institutions.
- General satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10: 7.5 grade on average, much higher than the OECD average of 6.7.