"Norway has always among the top five countries. There is very little difference between the top countries, and one should remember that when you are on top of the list, there is only one direction to go," Professor Richard Estes at the University of Pennsylvania told Dagsavisen.
Estes is the man behind the international index WISP which measures the quality of life in 163 nations using 40 different social indicators.
The WISP study for the 1990s has just been published, with Sweden and Denmark sharing first place, just ahead of Norway - a sweeping 'victory' for the Scandinavian way of life, with Nordic neighbor Finland and the central European nations following after.
The USA, which has a higher GNP (Gross National Product), ended up in 27th place, after all existing European Union nations and several EU applicants. Afghanistan and nine African nations came bottom of the study.
"A country can have a high GNP but at the same time an unjust distribution of resources and much poverty. The USA is an example of this. Despite a high GNP a country can have large segments of its population lacking satisfactory health care, education, and housing or food," Estes said.
"WISP measures human quality of life and well-being. GNP examines only economic factors. Even economists dislike it when countries are ranked according to GNP. WISP takes other factors into account, such as lifespan, general health levels, working conditions, access to nature, quality leisure time, democracy and political participation," Estes said.
Norway's decline from top positions is due to its neighbor's better emphasis on equality of status.