Bulgaria Named Unlucky Place to Be Born in 2013

Bulgaria would be a rather unlucky place to be born in 2013, according to a peculiar quality-of-life index.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister company of The Economist, has ranked 80 countries according to where would be the best place to be born next year, with the Balkan country placed 61st.

Bulgaria is ranked below Iran, Tunisia and Egypt, but slightly ahead of El Salvador, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

EIU has tried to measure which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead.

The company has placed Switzerland in the top spot, with Australia second and Norway third. Nigeria comes last.

Small economies dominate the top ten, The Economist has observed. Half of these are European, but only one, the Netherlands, is from the Eurozone.

The index takes 11 statistically significant indicators into account, including fixed factors, such as geography; factors changing very slowly over time (demography, many social and cultural characteristics); and some factors that depend on policies and the state of the world economy.

The Economist has used the EIU's economic forecasts to 2030, which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood.