Standard of living might be evaluated using a number of characteristics including as the quality and availability of
employment,
real income,
disposable income, class disparity,
poverty rate, quality and housing affordability, hours of work required to purchase
necessities,
gross domestic product,
inflation rate, amount of leisure time, access to and quality of healthcare, quality and availability of
education,
literacy rates, life expectancy, occurrence of diseases, cost of goods and services, infrastructure, access to, quality and affordability of public transportation, national
economic growth, economic and political stability, freedom, environmental quality, climate and safety. For the purposes of economics, politics and policy, it is usually compared across time or between groups defined by social, economic or geographical parameters. Standard of living can be measured by the
inflation-adjusted income per person. Due to the
income distribution a more representative measure of the
median voter living standard is the
median income. Other measures such as
poverty rate, access and quality of
health care,
income growth inequality, and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods (such as the number of refrigerators per 1000 people), or measurement of health such as life expectancy. It is the ease by which people living in a time or place are able to satisfy their needs and/or wants. There is also the biological standard of living, which pertains to how well the human biological organism fares in its socio-economic environment. It is often measured by the height of a population. The idea of a 'standard' may be contrasted with the
quality of life, which takes into account not only the material standard of living but also other more intangible aspects that make up human life, such as leisure, safety, cultural resources, social life,
physical health, environmental quality issues. Standard of living may be subject to inflation by itself (
lifestyle creep or inflation) when more resources are spent on standard of living, or when former luxuries become perceived necessities.
Lists •
Cost-of-living index •
Disposable household and per capita income •
Housing costs as percentage of gross income •
List of countries by average wage •
List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita •
List of countries by labour productivity == See also ==