Spot the contradiction:

• Of the 36 countries assessed in the OECD’s Better Life Index, Israel only came 25th.
• Compared to the average OECD individual(6.7), Israelis are happy people with a score of 7.4 out of 10. Denmark came top with 7.8.
• The OECD forecasts 3.2% GDP growth for Israel in 2012 and 3.6% growth in 2013, one of the best performers in the organisation.

So what’s the point? This week, I met up with two European delegations. Most participants are visiting for the first time, asking what makes this country of 8 million people tick? It is nearly 50% desert and surrounded by a geopolitical mess. The stats above could indicate that everything is about to implode and yet…………….

And yet, people walk around with a smile on their face. The economy is doing wellish. Despite the threat of a deep European recession, I spent today looking at the expansion plans of two companies.  Life ain’t too bad.

Bottom line: The OECD has churned out another set of interesting stats. They should be studied for what needs to be improved. However overall, the report does not seem to match up the reality when it comes to ‘the land of miracles”.