September the 22nd, 2026 – Croatia has entered into the top 20 countries with the highest quality of life, but it certainly doesn’t mean what you think it means…
The new ranking by World Population Review brings quite a surprise, and that’s that Croatia has placed 20th among countries with the highest quality of life. However, what’s odd to note is that behind this attractive ranking lies a methodology that is important to explain. Poslovni reports that Croatia has surprisingly found itself among the 20 best-placed countries in the world according to the quality of life ranking published by World Population Review. With an index of 181.7 points Croatia occupies 20th place, immediately behind Slovenia, which is 19th with 182.4 points.
the ranking leaves you scratching your head…
Particularly interesting is the fact that according to this ranking numerous developed countries remain behind Croatia. Lithuania is 21st, the United Kingdom 22nd, Czechia 23rd, Belgium 26th, Canada 27th, Ireland 28th, France 29th, Portugal 31st, while Italy is only in 40th place.
At the very top is Luxembourg with 218.2 points. It is followed by the Netherlands (216.5), Denmark (215.1), and a major surprise is Oman, which with the same result as Denmark occupies fourth place. They are followed by Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Austria and Germany. Australia is 11th, New Zealand 12th, Sweden 13th, the USA 14th, and among the top 20 are also Estonia, Qatar, Japan, Spain, Slovenia and Croatia.
this ranking isn’t what you might think it is
Nevertheless, it is necessary to emphasise that this is not an official international ranking of the “standard of living” in the classical economic sense. World Population Review for this ranking uses Numbeo’s Quality of Life Index, which attempts to encompass everyday quality of life through eight areas: purchasing power, safety, healthcare, cost of living, the ratio of property prices to income, time spent in traffic, pollution and climate conditions. It is precisely the last items that help explain why Croatia stands so high. For example, Numbeo’s data for Croatia show high scores for safety and very favourable climate conditions as well as a relatively low level of pollution.
