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Low marks for sub-Saharan Africa in a new UN ranking

Norway, Iceland, and Sweden are the world's best places in which to live, while countries in sub-Saharan Africa are among the worst, a UN Development Program study says. Its annual index of socioeconomic conditions in 175 countries was released last week as President Bush toured Africa. The report found 54 nations have grown poorer since 1990, criticized World Bank and International Monetary Fund policies as outdated and inadequate, and called for more aid. The lowest-ranked nations in the UN study:

1. Sierra Leone
2. Niger
3. Burkina Faso
4. Mali
5. Burundi
6. Mozambique
7. Ethiopia
8. Central African Republic
9. Democratic Republic of Congo
10. Guinea-Bissau - Associated Press