Germany is one of the least physically active countries in the world, according to a new ranking compiled by Compare the Market Australia. The ranking places Germany outside the top 20 healthiest countries in the world.
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, while many people are stuck inside their homes waiting for restrictions to lift, staying healthy and active is especially challenging. So Compare the Market Australia has investigated which countries are the most successful in encouraging and fostering a healthy lifestyle.
The data, which was gathered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), examines numerous health-related factors such as exercise, alcohol consumption and vaccination rates. Each country was awarded a normalised score out of 10 across eight different factors:
Japan and South Korea claimed the top two spots in the ranking, while European countries claimed 13 out of the top 20 spots.
It seems that Germany is one of Europe’s less healthy countries, coming in at 25th, behind Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, Italy, Slovenia, Belgium, Turkey, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria and France - pretty shocking!
Germany scored particularly poorly for exercise and physical activity. The country scored an index of 42,2 for insufficient physical activity in adults - compare that to Finland's score of 16,6! Alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking are also especially prevalent in Germany, while the obesity rate of 22,3 percent is above average.
According to the ranking, the top 10 healthiest countries in the world are:
For the full ranking and breakdown of how each country scored on each component, visit Compare the Market Australia’s website.