America the greatest country in the world?

I have heard people say over and over, America is the best place in the world to live. Well according to statistics I think their wrong.

U.S. ranking on health care: source world health organization

Japan # 1
U.S. # 37

All these deaths per year:

• 12,000 unnecessary surgery
• 7,000 medication errors in hospitals
• 20,000 other errors in hospitals
• 80,000 infections in hospitals
• 106,000 non-error, negative effects of drugs

225,000 deaths per year constitutes the third leading cause of death in the United States, after deaths from heart disease and cancer. Even if these figures are overestimated, there is a wide margin between these numbers of deaths and the next leading cause of death (cerebrovascular disease).

Another analysis concluded that between 4% and 18% of consecutive patients experience negative effects in outpatient settings with:

• 116 million extra physician visits
• 77 million extra prescriptions
• 17 million emergency department visits
• 8 million hospitalizations
• 3 million long-term admissions
• 199,000 additional deaths
• $77 billion in extra costs

The high cost of the health care system is considered to be a deficit, but seems to be tolerated under the assumption that better health results from more expensive care.

However, evidence from a few studies indicates that as many as 20% to 30% of patients receive inappropriate care.

An estimated 44,000 to 98,000 among them die each year as a result of medical errors.

Of 13 countries in a recent comparison, the United States ranks an average of 12th (second from the bottom) for 16 available health indicators. More specifically, the ranking of the US on several indicators was:

• 13th (dead last) for low-birth-weight percentages
• 13th for neonatal mortality and infant mortality overall
• 11th for postneonatal mortality
• 13th for years of potential life lost (excluding external causes)
• 11th for life expectancy at 1 year for females, 12th for males
• 10th for life expectancy at 15 years for females, 12th for males
• 10th for life expectancy at 40 years for females, 9th for males
• 7th for life expectancy at 65 years for females, 7th for males
• 3rd for life expectancy at 80 years for females, 3rd for males
• 10th for age-adjusted mortality

The poor performance of the US was recently confirmed by a World Health Organization study, which used different data and ranked the United States 37th place.

There is a perception that the American public "behaves badly" by smoking, drinking, and perpetrating violence." However the data does not support this assertion.

The proportion of females who smoke ranges from 14% in Japan to 41% in Denmark in the United States, it is 24%. For males, the range is from 26% in Sweden to 61% in Japan, it is 28% in the United States (third best).

The US ranks fifth best for alcoholic beverage consumption.

The US has relatively low consumption of animal fats (fifth lowest in men aged 55-64 years in 20 industrialized countries) and the third lowest mean cholesterol concentrations among men aged 50 to 70 years among 13 industrialized countries. These estimates of death due to error are lower than those in a recent Institute of Medicine report, and if the higher estimates are used, the deaths due to iatrogenic causes would range from 230,000 to 284,000.

Lack of technology is certainly not a contributing factor to the US's low ranking.

Among 29 countries, the United States is second only to Japan in the availability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units and computed tomography scanners per million population. Japan, however, ranks highest on health, whereas the US ranks among the lowest.

U.S. ranking on foreign Aid: Source University of Maryland.

Denmark # 1
U.S. # 22 (dead last)

A recent poll by the program for international policy attitudes at the university of Maryland showed that most Americans still believe that 20% of the federal budget goes to foreign aid, But in reality less then 1% of the budget goes to foreign aid. Denmark contributes 10 times as much of it's national income as American taxpayers do. And Japan is the largest provider of official development assistance for 10 consecutive years.

Prisons: source OCED

When comparing prison populations in 2000, The united states again stands far above the norm with a incarceration rate five times a high as the OCED average and three times larger then Czech republic, Ranking second.

U.S. ranking on journalistic press freedom: source Reporters without borders.

Iceland # 1
U.S. # 32

There should be no surprise since the patriot act. Freedom of speech is now in the privacy of your own home and that's pushing it.

U.S. ranking on women's rights: source World Economic forum.

Sweden # 1
U.S. # 17

U.S. Ranking on education: Source UNICEF.

South Korea # 1
U.S. # 18

South Korea has the most effective education system in the world, with Japan in second place and the United States and Germany near the bottom.