MUSCAT: A new analysis, the Global Wellness Index published by investment firm LetterOne, ranks Oman and Canada as the best countries out of the 151 nations evaluated to find health, wealth and happiness.

In ranking on where to find health, wealth and happiness, Canada comes first and Oman comes second.

In the overall list, several major economies struggle when ranked against smaller, healthier countries.

The U.S. trails far behind, coming in at 37. In a tighter ranking of G-20 nations combined with the 20 most populous countries on the planet, South Africa comes in dead last, below Ukraine, Egypt and Iraq.

Based on a basket of metrics ranging from government healthcare spending to rates of depression, alcohol use, smoking, happiness and exercise, the new index is the latest attempt by economists to evaluate the world beyond economic growth.

A common thread in both surveys, and others like them, is that the top ranks are increasingly filled with smaller countries.

This may be tied to researchers developing new metrics for the modern world, measures that don’t necessarily correlate economic health with actual health—let alone wellness—at the expense of other, more nuanced barometers.

The U.K. was ranked 15th, held back by high rates of obesity and inactivity. Big countries such as Japan, Germany, France or Italy failed to make the news survey’s global top 25, with all four faring poorly for rates of high blood pressure. Middle Eastern countries ranked relatively high due to good scores in the alcohol category.

The U.S. was hampered by excessive obesity, depression, inactivity and other items, Davies said.

The Global Wellness Index focuses on ten key metrics: blood pressure, blood glucose, obesity, depression, happiness, alcohol use, tobacco use, exercise, healthy life expectancy and government spending on healthcare. Data was gleaned from standard sources including the World Health Organization’s Global Health Observatory and the United Nations, as well as the World Happiness Report and public health data. Countries are ranked from the weakest to the strongest across every metric. Any with more than one missing data point were excluded, leaving 151 in the final composite rankings.

(With input from agencies)