U.S., Still Richest, Only 42nd in Life Expectancy, & Lags in Quality of Life

A few facts per the most recent American Human Development Report, which compares health, education and income in different nations:

• Despite having the second-highest average income per capita in the world, the U.S. has slipped to 12th place – from 2nd in 1990 – in terms of our basic quality of life.
• The richest fifth of Americans now earn nearly 15 times the average of the lowest fifth.
• We're ranked 42nd in overall life expectancy and 34th in terms of infants' surviving to age one. Citizens of Israel, Greece, Singapore, Costa Rica, South Korea and every western European and Nordic country save one live longer than Americans. Infant mortality in the U.S. is on par with that in Croatia, Cuba, and Estonia. If we could match Sweden's rate, some 20,000 more babies per year would live to their first birthday.
• We have a higher percentage of children living in poverty than any of the world's other richest countries. 15% of American children live in families with incomes of less than $1,500 per month.
• The U.S. lags far behind many other countries in the support given to working families, particularly in terms of family leave, sick leave and childcare.
• 14% of the population lack the literacy skills to perform simple, everyday tasks such as understanding newspaper articles and instruction manuals.
• Among the 30 rich countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. has the greatest number of people in prison, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the total population.

More at The Guardian.