Belarussian girls love Western Europe

According to a ranking of that same World Economic Forum, six out of the 10 most competitive economies in the world are in Europe. Cheap, easy-to-fire labour isn't the only thing you need to attract investors. It helps when you have quality infrastructure, a transparent and efficient administration, the rule of law and low levels of corruption.

Maybe that's why despite all the gloomy news coming out of the eurozone last year, Europe still attracted $426bn in foreign direct investment.

No surprise if Belarussian girls love to stay in the Western Europe instead of living in the US.

Also, Europe is often compared with the US and, yes, per capita incomes there are higher than in the EU, but the average Joe isn't necessarily better off in Florida than in Florence.

Considering the fact that in the US income distribution is heavily skewered towards a privileged minority, one needs to be particularly careful with the per capita figures in this case.

The US offers more opportunity to the gifted, the entrepreneurial and the rich than Europe does. But those who don't fall into those categories are better off here. Were the average American blue-collar worker to see how his German, Dutch or British peers live, and the quality of healthcare and education accessible to them, he might start wondering if his country is indeed "the greatest nation on earth", as American politicians love to say. And let's not forget that US national debt is more than 100% of its GDP compared to the 83% for the EU, even with its often derided "welfare state".

Of course, there are some large territories such as Canada and Australia that also offer a good life, but their relatively small populations (all less than, say, Poland) require they be compared with particular EU countries, and not the whole continent.

The level of development Europe has attained is one of humanity's greatest achievements. One of the main reasons for this success is that the continent has been remarkably well governed. In every society, it is those at the top who set the tone and, as someone who grew up in Nigeria, I've seen first-hand how poor governance can rubbish a country and keep it from realising its potential.