According to World Population Review, Spain is ranked #18 out of 195 countries for its standard of living, just below Qatar (17) and above the UAE (20), the UK (23), Saudi Arabia (25), Portugal (26), Belgium (27), Canada (29), Ireland (30), France (31) and Italy (41).
The table is topped by Luxembourg (1), Netherlands (2) and Denmark (3), and all countries in the top 10 are in Europe, except for one, Oman (4). The US comes in at #12.
“Standard of living”, according to the World Population Review, refers to “the level of wealth, comfort, necessities, and material goods available to a particular geographic area. It is closely related to (and often used interchangeably with) quality of life, which is generally understood to include the same measures of prosperity as standard of living, but also incorporates physical and mental health and wellness.”
How did Spain do so well? It looks like it was a combination of the highest life expectancy in Europe and a high governmental spend on healthcare. Spain is also ranked #36 in the World Happiness Report.
See all Standard of Living scores by country here. Read about Spain’s score here.