【Terms of service】

Special shout-out to my octogenarian cousins still living it up in the Italian hillside.

The Terms of serviceMediterranean nation was ranked the world's healthiest country in the Bloomberg Global Health Index.

The index, released on Monday, graded 163 countries based on variables such as life expectancy, causes of death and health risks such as high blood pressure, malnutrition, the availability of clean water and tobacco use.

SEE ALSO: Scientists find new link between sugar and Alzheimer's

Italians are in better shape than their peers in other developed nations, with lower blood pressure and cholesterol, Bloomberg found. Those two factors are likely attributed to the classic Italian diet that's rich in vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, lean meats and fish (and so, so many carbs).

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Italy is also brimming with doctors, who seem to be keeping busy even as millions of workers struggle to find jobs. In Italy's stagnating economy, the unemployment rate hit about 12 percent in December, with youth unemployment rising to around 40 percent.

Thanks to healthy lifestyles, quality health care and relative political stability, babies born in Italy today can expect to live to be in their 80s, according to the index.

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

But babies in countries at the bottom of the ranking will have roughly 30 fewer years on Earth. In Sierra Leone, the average newborn will die by 52. The West African nation is considered among the poorest in the world, and only 60 percent of people there have access to safe drinking water, contributing to the spread of diseases.

A separate report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) puts Italy slightly lower on the life expectancy ranking.

Babies in Japan, Spain and Switzerland had higher life expectancies at birth, though only by a hair.

Still, Bloomberg's list is hardly the final word on which nations are relatively healthy, or unhealthy. Within each nation, the growing disparity between rich and poor means that while some families have access to health care and fresh foods, many others don't.

In the United States, for instance, the poorest states — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia — are also considered among the least healthy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationwide, the U.S. maternal mortality rate is actually rising, despite the overwhelming global trend in the opposite direction.

On the Bloomberg list, the U.S. landed in 34th place, with a health grade of 73.05 out of 100, compared to Italy's grade of 93.11.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Finally the perfect kitchen invention for people who hate making salads

---

• Shopping
• Deals
• Tech
• Games
• Life
• Digital Culture
• Science
• Entertainment

• Wombat butt biting sex habits could be helpful for its survival
• Garcia Márquez Lives, Clockwork Orange Is Fifty by Sadie Stein
• Endless Endless: Kraftwerk at MoMA by Hua Hsu
• At the Grave of Richard Hugo by Alice Bolin
• Sunday's Fat Bear Week match pits two fat favorites against each other
• 'Spy/Master' review: An enthralling Cold War thriller
• How to use TikTok even if it's banned
• Garcia Márquez Lives, Clockwork Orange Is Fifty by Sadie Stein
• Amazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Save $170 on Dyson Hot+Cool
• At the Grave of Richard Hugo by Alice Bolin

• OpenAI teams up with Apple's Jony Ive to make AI
• Game Streaming Investigation: Which Quality Settings Are Best?
• How We Test: CPU Gaming Benchmarks
• GeForce RTX on Your Laptop? What Form Will That Take and When?
• Judge forces 'Fortnite' return to iOS, as Microsoft and Spotify assist
• Essential Apps You Should Install on a New PC Running Windows or macOS
• The 10 best porn sites for when you want to find something new
• What Are the Best CCleaner Alternatives?
• Standing Desk Starter Guide
• Nvidia DLSS: An Early Investigation

• Best smartwatch deal: Save $40 on the Fitbit Versa 4
• Video shows a self
• YouTube is introducing unskippable ads to TV
• Google Pixel phones may get a dashcam feature
• Nintendo Switch 2 release date, price announced
• 12 best gifts you can buy to support the U.S. Postal Service
• Dear Pete Campbell, A Word of Advice by Adam Wilson
• 'Yellowjackets': You can actually call Lottie's cult
• Best JBL deal: Save $10 on the Go 4 at Amazon
• Crime, Punishment, and Chess by Sadie Stein

• Best robot vacuum deal from the Amazon Big Spring Sale
• Lunch Poems, Mixtapes, Beats by Sadie Stein
• At the Grave of Richard Hugo by Alice Bolin
• 'Spy/Master' review: An enthralling Cold War thriller
• The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are on sale for $100 off
• America's Newest Sweetheart by Andrew Palmer
• The art of the porn GIF, and the best places to find them now
• Carlos Fuentes, 1928–2012 by Sadie Stein
• Amazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Best deals under $50
• Literary Bars, Brooklyn Lamentations by Sadie Stein