Life expectancy at birth remains one of the most frequently quoted indicators of health status. Gains in life expectancy in OECD countries in recent decades, reflecting sharp reductions in mortality rates, can be attributed to a number of factors, including rising living standards, improved lifestyle and better education, as well as greater access to quality health services. Other factors, such as better nutrition, sanitation and housing also played a role, particularly in countries with developing economies. It is difficult to estimate the relative contribution of the numerous non-medical and medical factors that might affect variations in life expectancy over time and across countries. Higher national income (as measured by GDP per capita) is generally associated with higher life expectancy at birth across OECD countries, although the relationship is less pronounced at higher levels of income.

Numerous studies have taken infant mortality rates as a health outcome to examine the effect of a variety of medical and non-medical determinants of health. The infant mortality rate, the rate at which babies of less than one year of age die, reflects the effect of economic and social conditions on the health of mothers and newborns as well as the effectiveness of health systems. The fact that some countries with a high level of health expenditure do not necessarily exhibit low levels of infant mortality has led to the conclusion that more health spending is not necessarily required to obtain better results. A body of research suggests that many factors beyond the quality and efficiency of the health system, such as income inequality, social environment, and individual lifestyles and attitudes, influence infant mortality rates.

Mental health disorders are a major burden on those who suffer them and on the public at large. The economic cost of mental health problems – including treatment and the indirect cost of lost productivity and days off work – are estimated at more than 2% of GDP in the United Kingdom and slightly less in Canada.

Obesity is a known risk factor for numerous health problems, including hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems (asthma), musculoskeletal diseases (arthritis) and some forms of cancer. At an individual level, several factors can lead to obesity, including excessive calorie consumption, lack of physical activity, genetic predisposition and disorders of the endocrine system. Because obesity is associated with higher risks of chronic illnesses, it is linked to significant additional health care costs.

Suicide is often considered as an extreme manifestation of depression and of poor quality of life. Because of its extreme nature, suicide can be viewed as the tip of an iceberg, with inter-temporal changes in rates of suicide, and differences between countries, giving an indicator of the extent of broader problems of depressive illness.

Subjective well-being consists of life satisfaction, the presence of positive experiences and feelings, and the absence of negative experiences and feelings. Each of these three elements represents a separate dimension of subjective well-being, and is subject to a different range of determinants.

The coping strategies available to people and households when confronted with social distress are a function not only of government policies but also of the initiatives of civil society and of various informal forms of support. Two of the most important items in this perspective are volunteering and social support.

If young people are not in employment and not at school, there are good reasons to be concerned about their current well-being and their future prospects. Low educational attainments and the growing importance of educational attainment for successful integration into the workforce make it difficult for those leaving school without adequate qualifications to move into jobs with good career prospects. The shares of young persons who are neither in employment nor in education is an indicator of those who are candidates to later become the “socially excluded” – persons with incomes below or at the poverty-line and who lack the skills to improve their economic situation.

The time that people devote to leisure activities is a key dimension of their quality of life, on par with the goods and services that they consume. Because of this, a long tradition of research has aimed at assessing the importance of leisure time for cross-country comparisons of quality of life and living standards.

In general, percentages of GDP spent on recreation and culture are positively correlated with per capita income – the richer the country, the higher the percentage expenditure on culture and recreation – but there are some striking exceptions. Ireland with relatively high per capita income spends relatively little on recreation and culture while the Czech Republic, with relatively low per capita income, spends a rather high share.

Arrivals of non-resident tourists in accommodation (hotel or similar establishments) is one of the standard measures of international tourism activity. It excludes domestic tourism.

The risk of being victim of a physical assault or other types of crime is one of the main factors shaping personal security and quality of life. While comparisons of crime statistics based on police records are potentially affected by crosscountry differences in reporting practices, greater comparability can be achieved through household surveys designed to assess people’s experience with victimisation. Respondents to the surveys used here are asked about victimisation by ten types of conventional crimes that they themselves, or other members of their households, may have experienced in the previous year. These conventional crimes cover vehicle-related crimes, burglary, theft of personal property, and contact crimes. Also covered, but more difficult to measure, are non-conventional crimes such as drug-related problems, hate crime, street level corruption and consumer fraud.

The number of road motor vehicles is high and rising among OECD countries, and reducing road accidents is a concern in all countries. The table in this section shows the numbers of road fatalities per million inhabitants and the chart combines the number of road fatalities per million inhabitants and per million vehicles.