Russia is ranked 78th out of 91 countries in the first-ever Global AgeWatch Index, which rates countries by the quality of life and wellbeing of their elderly.

      The index, which lists Sweden at number one and Afghanistan at rock bottom, ranks countries’ performances in the domains of income security; health status, including psychological wellbeing and life expectancy; employment and education; and what’s called the “enabling environment,” which measures how socially connected older people feel, whether they have easy access to transportation, how safe they feel, and their level of civic freedoms.

      It was on the enabling environment that Russia earned the lowest marks, 90th out of 91 countries, with only Pakistan scoring worse. Russia also received below-average marks for health status, ranking 78th out of 91. The poor health ranking was due largely to the fact that life expectancy in Russia is only 69, or 15 years less than what the index calls “the current norm.”

      However, there are also some good marks in Russia's rating, for example, it is ranked 21st in the employment and education criterion, "because many older people in Russia are highly educated.”