The World's  10 Cleanest Countries
  Researchers at Yale and Columbia  ranked countries' environmental performance based on 25 metrics,  including water and air quality, habitat protection and the impact of  the environment on the health of the population. European countries make  up more than half of the top 30, while the U.S. ranks 61st.While india  is on........ok just forget it.......here are the top 10
 
 
  1.  Iceland
 
  
  EPI  score: 93.5 
  GDP per capita: $36,000 
  Population: 311,000  
  In the category of air pollution (effect on humans), Iceland  scored 97.4, compared with 84.8 for countries of similar GDP per capita.
  2.  Switzerland
 
  
  EPI  score: 89.1 
  GDP per capita: $37,000 
  Population: 7.6  million 
  Switzerland scores a perfect 100 in forestry, water  quality (effects on humans) and biodiversity and habitat. Like most  rich, industrialized nations, its lowest scoring was in air pollution  (effects on ecosystem).
 
  3. Costa Rica
 
  
  EPI  score: 86.4 
  GDP per capita: $9,600 
  Population: 4.5  million 
  That such a relatively poor and developing country ranks  third in the EPI is testament to the natural endowments of Costa Rica,  with dense forests, plentiful water and abundant wildlife. With smart  development, Costa Rica can avoid the standard path that growing nations  take of polluting their environment, only to clean it up again once  they become wealthy. Costa Rica touts its EPI ranking in ads for its  tourism sector.
 
  4. Sweden
 
  
  EPI  score: 86 
  GDP per capita: $33,400 
  Population: 9.1  million 
  Sweden has bragging rights, for the moment, among the  Scandinavian states, where out-greening one another is a regional  competition.
  5. Norway
 
  
  EPI  score: 81.1 
  GDP per capita: $48,000 
  Population: 4.7  million 
  Norway is a nation of astonishing wealth, built on vast  offshore reserves of oil and natural gas. The global warming impact of  those fossil fuels is not debited from Norway's results, rather it is  recognized in the nations that burn them.
 
  6. Mauritius
 
  
  EPI  score: 80.6 
  GDP per capita: $10,000 
  Population: 1.3  million 
  A tiny island nation in the Indian Ocean to the east of  Madagascar, Mauritius is far and away the highest-ranking nation of  Sub-Saharan Africa; Djibouti comes second with a score of 60.5.  Isolation is its benefit, helping keep pollution low and attracting a  tourist trade eager to enjoy healthy marine areas.
 
  7.  France
 
  
  EPI  score: 78.2 
  GDP per capita: $31,000 
  Population: 62  million 
  By far the most populous country in the top 10, France  ranks very high in air and water quality and fisheries management. The  EPI methodology benefits countries with significant nuclear power  programs.
 
  8. Austria
 
  
  EPI  score: 78.1 
  GDP per capita: $35,000 
  Population: 8.3  million 
  Neck and neck with France, Austria benefits in the  rankings by being landlocked. With no fisheries to be evaluated,  Austria's 100 score on biome protection gets a greater weighting.
 
  9.  Cuba
 
  
  EPI  score: 78.1 
  GDP per capita: $8,500 
  Population: 11.3  million 
  Does Cuba prove that a communist idyll can also be an  environmental one? Don't count on it. Researchers doubt the veracity of  Cuba's data, which shows higher levels of public health, (including  almost universal access to sanitation and clean water) than GDP would  suggest. The average EPI score for Cuba's income peer group is 65.7.
 
  10.  Colombia
 
  
  EPI  score: 76.8 
  GDP per capita: $7,600 
  Population: 44  million 
  The poorest country in the top 10, Colombia's high  ranking is due to the quality of its natural endowments. Its score for  biodiversity and habitat, at 82.7 compares with an average of 51 for its  income group. Colombia's carbon emissions are relatively low because of  plentiful river systems feed enough hydropower generators to supply  some 70% of electricity needs.
 
 
 
            
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