An Israeli flag at the Western Wall. Photo: Caleb Zahnd.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister company of the Economist, released an index of the top 100 countries to be born in, and Israel ranks pretty high, coming in at number 20.

In top place is Switzerland, followed by Australia and then Norway. The United States came in at number 16. Israel ranked ahead of such destinations as Italy, Japan and France. It was two spots behind the United Arab Emirates and two spots ahead of any other country in the region, with Kuwait coming in at number 22. The next closest Middle Eastern country was Saudi Arabia at number 38. Iran, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt all ranked in the bottom 50.

The accompanying text says that the index  “attempts to measure which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead.”

The EIU’s index takes into account the economic forecasts to 2030, which is when it believes children born in 2013 will reach adulthood. The index takes 11 “statistically significant” indicators into account. As the accompanying text states : “some are fixed factors, such as geography; others change only very slowly over time (demography, many social and cultural characteristics); and some factors depend on policies and the state of the world economy.”