Norway 'best place to live'

Norway was followed by Sweden, Canada, Belgium, Australia and the US - but the bottom of the chart is dominated by African countries.

Sierra Leone was placed last, and the bottom 24 countries are all in Africa.

The UN's Human Development Report, ranks 173 countries for their quality of life, using indicators such as life expectancy and income per person.

In Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union - as well the 24 lowest-ranking African nations - people were poorer and died sooner than at the end of the Cold War, the report said.

The poor performance went hand-in-hand with a relapse in many places to authoritarian rule or conflict.

This was especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, where the report says that one in four countries saw the military intervene in politics.

"Around the world, there is a growing sense that democracy has not delivered development such as more jobs, schools, health care for ordinary people," said Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, the UN report's chief author.

But the report argues that moving toward democracy actually makes for more stable societies - rebutting an argument made by China, Pakistan and other countries that a slower shift to democracy is necessary to maintain order.

"History and academic research provide no evidence that authoritarian regimes are better at promoting economic and social progress," the report's author said.

In addition, democratic countries are far less likely to go to war against each other, the report says.

Translating wealth to benefits

Although wealthy countries ranked high on the index, the report stressed that per capita income alone did not translate into quality of life.

Pakistan and Vietnam had similar incomes but Vietnam was far better at using that income to provide improved health care and education, the report said.

Guatemala had more than seven times the national income of Tanzania, but is falling way behind the African nation on schooling for girls.

Russia, in 60th place, and Bulgaria, in 62nd, scored well in the education category, but fell down in their failure to curb infant mortality.

Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Olav Kjoerven expressed satisfaction that his country had come out on top again.

But he joked that it may have been a very different story if climate had been a factor.

"Have you spent winter in Norway, with the cold and darkness?" he said.

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Bottom 15 countries: