SwitchSelect

Australia is ranked second in the world, after Norway,  in terms of  the quality of life it  offers  its residents,  according to  a United Nations  report  on development and migration.

The UN  Development Program's Human Development Report 2009, published  October 5, ranked 182 countries  according to  life expectancy,  income and school enrolments.

The US slipped one  spot to 13 while Britain maintained its number 21 ranking,  based on comparable  2007 data.  Niger  held the lowest position,  after  Afghanistan and Sierra Leone.

Jeni Klugman,  the report's author, pointed out that the  data were before the   financial crisis, which should make the next report very interesting. The report shows that life expectancy  was  longer by  three months  while  income rose  by  4 per cent in Australia compared to a year earlier. However, there is no account of  a country's  specific  attractions  to migrants

In its place, the report’s human development index  compares countries into levels of  development. The report shows that  majority of  international migrants move within their tiers or levels. For  example,  Africans  migration to Europe is below  1 per cent and worldwide, only a little more than  a third of the  200 million international migrants in a developing country  relocated to a developed destination.

For majority of the migrants, the move is simply in  search of  better income  opportunity, which generally boosted the destination country economically.
Dr Klugman  added that migration has been a natural phenomenon which should not be feared. It is not going out of control either. Migration  only accounted for  about  3 per cent of the  total world's population in the last 50 years.

While other countries are hostile to migration, Australia, like the 52 other countries surveyed, held a positive attitude as long as  there were jobs available.
There is continued competition among the developed countries to attract the  most talented and educated of the  international  migrants.