For the second year running, Norway has been named as the best place in the world to live, according to an annual report from the United Nations.

Norway was followed by Sweden, Canada, Belgium, Australia and the US - but the bottom of the chart is dominated by African countries.

Have you spent winter in Norway, with the cold and darkness?

Olav Kjoerven Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister

Sierra Leone was placed last, and the bottom 24 countries are all in Africa.

The UN's Human Development Report, ranks 173 countries for their quality of life, using indicators such as life expectancy and income per person.

In Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union - as well the 24 lowest-ranking African nations - people were poorer and died sooner than at the end of the Cold War, the report said.

The poor performance went hand-in-hand with a relapse in many places to authoritarian rule or conflict.

This was especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, where the report says that one in four countries saw the military intervene in politics.

"Around the world, there is a growing sense that democracy has not delivered development such as more jobs, schools, health care for ordinary people," said Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, the UN report's chief author.

Despite its low income Tanzania is doing well on schooling

But the report argues that moving toward democracy actually makes for more stable societies - rebutting an argument made by China, Pakistan and other countries that a slower shift to democracy is necessary to maintain order.

"History and academic research provide no evidence that authoritarian regimes are better at promoting economic and social progress," the report's author said.

In addition, democratic countries are far less likely to go to war against each other, the report says.

Translating wealth to benefits

Although wealthy countries ranked high on the index, the report stressed that per capita income alone did not translate into quality of life.

Pakistan and Vietnam had similar incomes but Vietnam was far better at using that income to provide improved health care and education, the report said.

Guatemala had more than seven times the national income of Tanzania, but is falling way behind the African nation on schooling for girls.

Russia, in 60th place, and Bulgaria, in 62nd, scored well in the education category, but fell down in their failure to curb infant mortality.

Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Olav Kjoerven expressed satisfaction that his country had come out on top again.

But he joked that it may have been a very different story if climate had been a factor.

"Have you spent winter in Norway, with the cold and darkness?" he said.

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Top 15 countries:

HDI rank 2002	Life expectancy (years)	Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births)	GDP per capita ($)	Adult literacy (%)
1 Norway	78.5	4	29,918	99%*
2 Sweden	79.7	3	24,277	99%*
3 Canada	78.8	6	27,840	99%*
4 Belgium	78.4	6	27,178	99%*
5 Australia	78.9	6	25,693	99%*
6 United States	77	7	34,142	99%*
7 Iceland	79.2	4	29,581	99%*
8 Netherlands	78.1	5	25,657	99%*
9 Japan	81	4	26,755	99%*
10 Finland	77.6	4	24,996	99%*
11 Switzerland	78.9	3	28,789	99%*
12 France	78.6	4	24,223	99%*
13 UK	77.7	4	23,509	99%*
14 Denmark	76.2	6	27,627	99%*
15 Austria	78.1	4	26,765	99%*

* For Human Development Index a value of 99% was applied

Bottom 15 countries:

HDI rank 2002	Life expectancy (years)	Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births)	GDP per capita ($)	Adult literacy (%)
159 Guinea	47.5	112	1,982	41
160 Gambia	46.2	92	1,649	36.6
161 Angola	45.2	172	2,187	42
162 Rwanda	40.2	100	943	66.8
163 Malawi	40	117	615	60.1
164 Mali	51.5	142	797	41.5
165 Central African Republic	44.3	115	1,172	46.7
166 Chad	45.7	118	871	42.6
167 Guinea Bissau	44.8	132	755	38.5
168 Ethiopia	43.9	117	668	39.1
169 Burkina Faso	46.7	105	976	23.9
170 Mozambique	39.3	126	854	44
171 Burundi	46.7	114	591	48
172 Niger	45.2	159	746	15.9
173 Sierra Leone	38.9	180	490	36

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