Denmark unhealthiest country in the Nordics

Danes scored particularly badly for alcohol consumption

Lucie Rychla

Sep 25, 2016

Denmark is the least healthy place to live in the Nordic region, according to an extensive study published this week in the medical journal The Lancet.

The study assessed the living conditions of 188 countries over the past 25 years, using 33 health-related Sustainable Development Goal indicators such as poverty, water quality, education, disease, mortality rates, violence, road injuries and pollution.

Overall, Denmark ranked at number 16 with a total score of 79 out of 100.

Iceland, Singapore and Sweden topped the ranking, with scores of 85, while Finland and Norway placed 6th and 11th respectively.

Denmark’s overall results were affected by low scores in categories concerning alcohol consumption (39 out of 100), obesity (51), suicide (55) and HIV (56).

On the other hand, the country achieved top scores in areas such as water quality, sanitation, air pollution, disaster and war.

The median score for the entire study was 59.3 and the lowest indexes were measured in the Central African Republic (20.4), Somalia (21.6) and South Sudan (22.5).

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