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Luxembourg dropped from the 10th position it held in the last index in 2017.

Topping this year’s list is Spain, up five points since the last index. Other European countries in the top 10 include Italy (2nd, dropping from top place in the previous index), Iceland (3rd), Switzerland (5th), Sweden (6th) and Norway (9th). Bloomberg notes that health levels in Spain and Italy are in part due to the Mediterranean diet, and in the case of Spain, there has been a “decline in the past decade in cardiovascular diseases and deaths from cancer”. 

Japan ranked highest of the Asian countries at 4th. South Korea and China also rose by +17 and +3, respectively to ranks 17th and 52nd. 

The index ranks 169 countries on a variety of factors, including life expectancy, survival rates to certain stages of life, and so on.

It further penalises countries on factors like tobacco and alcohol consumption, obesity, plus mental health and vaccination coverage. 

Environmental factors, for example access to quality water and sanitation, also make up part of the gauge. 

Sources for the index include the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Population Division and the World Bank.