SPANIARDS MAY CHEER, "salud" – "to your health" – a little louder today as the European country was named the world's healthiest nation, according to a new Bloomberg analysis.
The 2019 version of the Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index ranked 169 economies on health variables such as life expectancy, health risks like tobacco use and obesity, and environmental contributors that include access to clean water and sanitation to determine the countries' overall population health grade. Spain, with the highest life expectancy at birth among European Union member nations, rose five spots since the last ranking in 2017, with a health grade of 92.75, according to Bloomberg's ranking.
Italy, Iceland, Japan and Switzerland rounded out the top five healthiest nations. Meanwhile, the United States – with a health grade of 73 – ranked No. 35 in the index.
Sub-Saharan economies made up 27 of the 30 unhealthiest nations in the ranking, according to Bloomberg, with Haiti, Afghanistan and Yemen claiming the other three spots.
Browse the list below to see which countries qualified for the top 25.