Fast Company posted this article about the five greenest countries on earth, ranking the environmental friendliness of the world’s nations. Did you know that on our green businesses directory you can search for and add green businesses around the globe, as well as events. This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s website.

The 5 Greenest Countries On Earth (And All Of The Rest), Ranked

By Ben Schiller

Want to live in a beautiful nation that protects your health? It turns out Switzerland is your best bet (the chocolate is also good).

Switzerland does a good job managing the environment and protecting human health. The United States does it middlingly well. And Somalia, Haiti, and Afghanistan–as you might expect–not so great. They are some of the worst performers in a new ranking of environmental performance.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) assesses countries for how well they protect people from environmental harm and how well they protect ecosystems from human encroachment. It crunches data for nine categories–from air quality to forest and marine health–using 20 indicators in all.

After Switzerland in top place comes Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, and the Czech Republic. In sixth place, Germany is the first major economy, with the U.K. in 12th. Eighteen of the top 20 countries are in Europe, with Canada in 24th, Japan in 26th, and the U.S. in 33rd. Continue reading…