Ageing Brits may be wise to find homes in Sweden for their retirement, after the country was named as the best in the world for treatment of the older population.
The annual Global AgeWatch Index looked into the quality of life for the elderly in 91 countries across the world. It found that Sweden was the greatest for care of the aged, whilst Afghanistan ranked worst, huffingtonpost.co.uk reports.
Elsewhere, Norway came second whilst Germany took third place. Ireland was 12th, followed by the UK in 13th. At the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan was ranked as only slightly worse than Tanzania and Pakistan, which ranked 90th and 89th respectively.
Some countries that were notable for placing well above their wealth bracket were Sri Lanka, Bolivia and Mauritius, all of which placed higher than many of their richer counterparts.
This year's index took on added significance as it came after reports were published claiming that older people would outnumber those aged 15 or under by the year 2050.
To create the index, 13 different indicators were measured and then combined to provide an overall score. These indicators included income and employment, education, environment, and health provision.
Commenting on the results, interim chief executive of HelpAge International, Silvia Steanoni, told bbc.co.uk: "The continual exclusion of ageing from national and global agendas is one of the biggest obstacles to meeting the needs of the world's ageing population.
"By giving us a better understanding of the quality of life of women and men as they age, this new index can help us focus our attention on where things are going well and where we have to make improvements."
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Author
David Howells