最幸福的发达国家:澳大利亚连续第三年获评

A fading mining boom may be taking the gloss off Australia's resource-rich economy but the country has retained the title of happiest industrialized nation in the world.
矿业繁荣渐退或许让澳大利亚这个资源丰富的经济体少了些光彩，但全球最幸福发达国家的桂冠仍戴在这个国家的头上。

That's according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Better Life Index, which ranked the world's developed economies on criteria such as jobs, income, environment and health.
这是经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development，简称OECD)幸福指数(Better Life Index)显示的。该指数基于就业、收入、环境和健康等指标对发达经济体进行排名。

Australia kept the top spot for the third year running, ahead of Sweden─also known for its high living standards and robust economy─and Canada, a rival resource-exporting nation that, like Australia, has reaped the benefits of increasing Asian demand for raw materials.
澳大利亚连续第三年荣膺最幸福国度的称号，幸福指数高于以生活品质高和经济强劲闻名的瑞典，也高于在资源出口方面与其竞争的加拿大。跟澳大利亚一样，加拿大也因亚洲对原材料需求不断增加而受益匪浅。

The upbeat outlook comes as policy makers in Australia try to rebalance the economy, the world's 12th largest, away from a heavy reliance on mining and energy exports toward growth in manufacturing, construction, and consumer spending.
眼下，澳大利亚决策者正努力在这个世界第12大经济体实现再平衡，使其重心从对采矿和能源出口的严重依赖转向制造、建筑和消费支出领域的增长。

The OECD survey of 34 industrialized nations didn't award an overall top ranking. But if each of the 11 categories in the survey is given equal weight, Australia's cumulative rank rises to No. 1, according to the OECD website.
OECD幸福指数对34个发达国家展开调查，本身并没有给出一个整体排名。但根据OECD网站显示的数据，如果给被调查的11项每项以同样的加权，那么澳大利亚的综合排名处在第一位。

'It's the quality of life that one can enjoy here,' said Gaurav Chawla, 27, a careers adviser who moved to Sydney from New Delhi seven years ago. 'It's more secure here, cleaner, less cars on the road and less pollution.'
七年前从新德里来到悉尼的职业发展顾问、27岁的乔拉(Gaurav Chawla)说，人们在这里可以享受到高品质的生活，这里给人更多安全感，更干净，路上的车较少，污染也较小。

Australia's high rank in the OECD index─based on data from the United Nations, individual governments and other sources─is largely due to its economy. The nation mostly sidestepped the economic woes afflicting much of the developed world after the financial crisis and has expanded for 21 years straight without a recession. Unemployment stood at 5.5% in April from 5.6% in March, compared with 12.1% in the euro zone.
OECD幸福指数以联合国、各个国家和其它信息源的数据为基础。澳大利亚之所以幸福指数较高，主要得益于该国经济。金融危机后，大部分发达国家陷入经济困境，澳大利亚却基本得以“幸免”，并且经济连续21年实现扩张，没有出现衰退。今年4月，澳大利亚失业率为5.5%，低于3月的5.6%。欧元区国家的失业率为12.1%。

'There is no one under the age of 40 now who has experienced a recession as an adult member of the workforce,' said Saul Eslake, an economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in Sydney.
美银美林(Bank of America-Merrill Lynch)驻悉尼经济学家埃斯雷克(Saul Eslake)说，澳大利亚40岁以下的成年劳动者还没有谁经历过经济衰退。

It isn't just current residents who see Australia's appeal. The government has so far attracted 170 applicants, believed to be mostly from China, to a new program to develop foreign investment by offering overseas millionaires the right of residency in return for a portion of their wealth. A record 5.7 million foreigners visited the country last year, led by tourists from the U.S. and China, even as the Australian dollar traded at close to 30 year highs.
认为澳大利亚有吸引力的不仅仅是那里的民众。澳大利亚政府针对海外富豪的新移民计划到目前为止已吸引到了170名申请者，据信其中多为中国人。澳大利亚利用该计划发展外国投资，给移民至本国的富豪提供居留权，从而获得他们的部分财富。在澳元涨至近30年高位之际，去年仍有创纪录的570万外国人来澳大利亚旅游，其中主要是来自美国和中国的游客。

There are weaknesses, though. Consumer confidence remains in the doldrums even after the central bank this month lowered interest rates to a record low 2.75%, adding to a string of rate-cuts since late 2011 designed to spur activity in weaker parts of the economy such as retail sales and housing. Households blame the poor mood on a rising cost of living, an unpopular government, and growing signs a long mining boom is nearing an end.
但澳大利亚经济也存在弱点。即使澳大利亚央行本月将利率降至2.75%的历史新低，但消费者信心依然低迷。自2011年末以来澳大利亚央行已经实施了一系列降息措施，旨在刺激零售和楼市等该国经济中表现较弱的行业的活力。澳大利亚家庭则认为信心低迷另有原因，包括生活成本上升，不得人心的政府，以及有越来越多的迹象表明持续已久的矿业热潮正接近尾声。

While the OECD survey found that Australians rank their life-satisfaction at 7.2 out of 10, higher than the average of 6.6, the reading is below levels recorded in Mexico, Norway and neighboring New Zealand.
虽然OECD的调查发现，澳大利亚人给其生活满意度打出了7.2的分数（满分为10分），高于6.6的平均分，但还是低于墨西哥、挪威和邻国新西兰的水平。

Australia also ranks poorly in terms of work-life balance with more than 14% of employees working very long hours, well above the OECD average of 9%. And, somewhat surprisingly for a country famed for its beaches and barbecues, Aussies spend slightly less time on leisure activities and personal care─eating and sleeping─than their overseas peers.
而在工作生活的平衡方面，澳大利亚的排名也很低。该国有超过14%的员工工作时间很长，远高于OECD调查显示的9%的平均比例。同时，令人感到有些意外的是，对于一个因海滩和烧烤出名的国家来说，澳大利亚人花在休闲活动和个人护理（吃饭和睡觉）上的时间比其它国家的人略少。

The average household net wealth is estimated at US$32,178, well below the OECD average of US$40,516. The study finds a significant disparity in living standards, with the top 20% of Australia's population living off an estimated US$58,409 per year compared with US$10,323 for the bottom 20%.
澳大利亚平均家庭净财富估计为32,178美元，远低于OECD调查显示的40,516美元的平均水平。研究发现该国国民生活水平差距很大，该国最富裕的20%的人口一年的生活成本估计为58,409美元。相比之下最贫穷的20%一年的生活成本仅为10,323美元。

'The overall Australian way seems to be happy go lucky, but that's not always the case,' said Ivana Mrsic, 18, a music student from Botany Bay, a suburb in Sydney's south.
来自悉尼以南植物湾(Botany Bay)的18岁音乐专业学生米希克(Ivana Mrsic)说，澳大利亚人的生活给人的整体感觉似乎是无忧无虑的，但情况并非总是这样。

Still, any pessimism in the Pacific nation of 23 million people could be overdone in the context of the economic hardship being endured elsewhere, said Bank of America-Merrill Lynch's Mr. Eslake.
美银美林的埃斯雷克说，在世界其它国家正在经历经济困境时，人口为2,300万的太平洋国家澳大利亚表现出的任何悲观情绪都可能会被夸大。