A link from Atanu’s blog led me to some fascinating facts about a place I’d known of for quite a while…

• World’s first democracy: the first in which all women joined men in having the vote for Government: 1893.
• Has long since virtually eliminated poverty.
• One of the world pioneers (since mid-1930s) of the welfare state, along with Sweden and Norway.
• From about 1938 to early 1970s, 100 per cent full employment. Even now, national unemployment well under 4 per cent.
• (Has a) robust grassroots democracy. Every school, public and private, is elected by the school’s parents, with minority board-posts elected by teachers, and, in high schools, by students too… General election turnouts for most of the last half century have regularly topped 90 per cent, although have dropped slightly below that in some recent years.
• In the mid-part of the 20th century, consistently in the world’s top five countries to lead the world in productivity.
• Among the world’s top-book-buying and reading nations.

What an impressive set of indicators for an outstanding quality of Life, wouldn’t you agree?  No wonder, I’ve been wanting to move to New Zealand, for as long as I’ve known of it!  (Thanks for the reinforcement, Atanu)

Read the complete list here.