Quoting NewsWeek's own words,
Despite the long winter, Finland is a pretty great place to be--the best actually. It ranked the highest overall and also comes in as the best small country, the best high-income country, and the best country for education. Its students scored first in science and second in both reading and math in the 2006 (the most recent data available) Program for International Student Assessment, a test of 15-year-olds' education skills by the OECD. Finland's schoolkids enjoy a laid-back and inclusive learning environment where shoes are optional, all teachers have master's degrees...
Here is what NewsWeek said about their ranking procedure:
Source: NewsWeek
"...Given that there are so many ways to measure achievement, we chose the five we felt were most important--health, economic dynamism (the openness of a country's economy and the breadth of the size of its corporate sector), education, political environment, and quality of life. ... Like all lists, this one is not perfect, but it offers surprising and fascinating answers and plenty of insight into which country is healthiest..." - NewsWeek
Source: NewsWeek
