Norway is the best country to live in the world. Find out where India stands

Reine village in Lofoten, Norway. Pic courtesy: Petr Šmerkl, Wikipedia

New Delhi/Oslo: It is not easy to stay on top for 12 long years, especially when it comes to being the best nation in the world to live in.

However, Norway has lived up to its reputation and has been adjudged the best country in the world to live in - for the 12th consecutive year.

But India - an aspiring superpower - continues to stay far, far behind - at 130th place in the Human Development Index (HDI). But, that still is an improvement over last year when India was ranked 125th.

The list of 188 countries has been released as part of the annual UN Human Development Report. It takes into account the Human Development Index, which is a measure of basic human developments.

HDI takes into account three factors - long and healthy lifestyle, access to knowledge and decent standard of living.

Norway has topped the chart with an HDI score of 0.944. Following closely are Australia and Switzerland with values of 0.935 and 0.930 respectively.

As per a report in The Independent, Norway has also been adjudged the most prosperous country in the world - for the seventh year in a row.

Top 20 countries on Human Development Index:

1. Norway

2. Australia

3. Switzerland

4. Denmark

5. Netherlands

6. Germany

6. Ireland

8. United States

9. Canada

9. New Zealand

11. Singapore

12. Hong Kong

13. Liechtenstein

14. Sweden

14. United Kingdom

16. Iceland

17. South Korea

18. Israel

19. Luxembourg

20. Japan

130. India

(Countries with same rankings share same scores.)