The stats are in, the numbers have been crunched from 194 countries and it is now official that, as if we didn't already know it,  Italy is in the Top Ten countries listed in Quality of life Index.

US publication, International Living has published its 2010 Quality of Life Index which ranks 194 countries based on their quality of life. 

 
To produce this annual Index International Living consider, for each country, nine categories: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate. This involves a lot of number crunching from “official” sources, including government websites, the World Health Organization, and The Economist, to name but a few.

Grand historic cities, 60 percent of the world’s art treasures, and a WHO-acclaimed national health care system form a small part of what bumped Italy to 10th position. Of course fantastic expresso, ice-cream, pizza, landscapes to die for and the sweet sound of vespa's on cobbled streets all added into the mix!

International Living use the following sources to compile the data for the 2010 Quality of Life Index:
UNESCO Statistical Yearbook; Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties; United States Department of Commerce; U.S. State Department; The United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention; The Freedom House Survey; Statistical Abstract of the United States; The World Factbook; The World Almanac and Book of Facts; U.S. Department of State Indexes of Living Costs Abroad, Quarters Allowances, and Hardship Differentials; The World Health Organization; The Economist World in Figures. International Living also ask their editors from around the world to comment on official findings to give a more realistic view of the numbers.