Is Australia really a lifestyle superpower? We have an enviable environment, the most beaches in the world's top 100, and four of the finest restaurants but long work hours keep us tied up . . .
JULIE Bishop is telling the world that Australia now ranks among the superpowers - "a lifestyle superpower". But, while it's not surprising that our foreign minister is spruiking this country to international audiences, has she got her facts right?
Bishop's pitch is that we're the place where big international firms can base or expand their operations into Asia and keep employees happy at the same time. 
As New York suffered through a historic blizzard she enticed her American audience with tales of the Australian quality of life, "of white beaches and of warm weather". She claimed we are "a nation of beachgoers", boasted of "fabulous cafes and restaurants" and paraded Aussie film star Chris Hemsworth as someone "who understands our outdoor lifestyle".
But just how good do Australians have it? Pretty damn good, according to international indicators. The country performs well in happiness and life satisfaction metrics obtained by surveying citizens in countries around the world.
Australians also enjoy a pristine environment. In both water and air quality measures, Australia is in the top 10 within the 34 OECD countries.
For some more subjective lifestyle measures like the quality of restaurants and beaches, the country is among the finest in the world.
Australia has four cities in the top 10 of the Economist's "liveability" index which assesses things like safety, healthcare, educational resources, infrastructure and environment in 140 cities. Melbourne was first, and Adelaide fifth.
Demographer David Chalke says, based on these measures, "you would say that, yeah, we very much are a lifestyle superpower".
"We have all the toys - look at penetration of smartphones and tablets (sixth in the world according to Google) - all the trinkets, or the facilitators of lifestyle, are there." There may not always be the time to enjoy them, however. Australia rates close to the bottom among OECD countries for work-life balance and time available for leisure.
Chalke argues that instead of "work-life balance", it's more informative to look at job satisfaction.
"We have a life - some of it is work, some of it is leisure and some of it is integrated," he says. "We do actually work longer hours, but we enjoy doing it." According to the Australian Workplace Relations Study in 2015, on a scale of one (unsatisfied) to seven (satisfied), Australians' overall job satisfaction was 5.42 and the flexibility to balance work and non-work commitments recorded a 5.67. The only metric to record an average of less than five in the survey was total pay.
HAPPINESS 1 Switzerland 2 Iceland 3 Denmark 4 Norway 5 Canada 6 Finland 7 Netherlands 8 Sweden 9 New Zealand 10 AUSTRALIA 15 USA 21 UK 29 France 46 Japan 50 Italy 84 China 117 India Source World Happiness Report 2015
LIFE SATISFACTION1 Iceland 2 Switzerland 3 Denmark 4 Finland 5 Norway 6 Israel 7 Netherlands 8 AUSTRALIA 9 Canada 10 New Zealand 18 United Kingdom 28 Korea 34 Greece Source OECD (based on survey responses, limited to 34 OECD countries) ENVIRONMENT: CLEANEST AIR 1 Estonia 2 Sweden 3 New Zealand 4 France 5 Luxembourg 6AUSTRALIA 7 Ireland 8 Slovak Republic 9 United Kingdom 10 Canada 19 United States 24 Japan 31 Netherlands Source OECD (limited to 34 OECD countries)
PEOPLE SATISFIED BY WATER QUALITY 1 Iceland (97%) 2 Switzerland (96) 3 Sweden (95) 4 Germany (95) 5 Denmark (94) 6 Finland (94) 7 Norway (94) 8 Austria (94) 9 Netherlands (92) 10 AUSTRALIA (91) 19 United States (85) 21 France (82) 34 Turkey (62) Source OECD (limited to 34 OECD countries)
WORK/LIFE BALANCE: EMPLOYEES WORKING 50-PLUS HOURS PER WEEK 1 Netherlands (0.5%) 2 Sweden (1.1) 3 Denmark (2) 4 Norway (2.8) 5 Hungary (3.2) 6 Estonia (3.3) 7 Luxembourg (3.5) 8 Finland (3.6) 9 Italy (3.7) 10 Canada (3.9) 13 Germany (5.3) 26 United Kingdom (12.7) 28 AUSTRALIA (14) Source OECD (limited to 34 OECD countries)
HOURS FOR LEISURE AND PERSONAL CARE PER WEEK 1 Denmark (16.1) 2 Spain (16.1) 3 Belgium (15.7) 4 Norway (15.6) 5 Netherlands (15.4) 6 France (15.3) 7 Germany (15.3) 8 Ireland (15.2) 9 Luxembourg (15.1) 10 Sweden (15.1) 21 New Zealand (14.9) 28 AUSTRALIA(14.4) 30 United States (14.3) Source OECD (limited to 34 OECD countries)
THE FINER TASTES: MOST RESTAURANTS IN THE TOP 100 1USA (15) 2 Spain (10) 3 France (8) 4 China (6) 4 UK (6) 6 AUSTRALIA (4) 6 Denmark (4) 6 Italy (4) 6 Japan (4) 10 Sweden (3) Peru (3) Germany (3) Mexico (3) Singapore (3) Source World's 50 Best Restaurants 2015MOST BEACHES IN THE TOP 100 1 AUSTRALIA (5) USA (5) 3 Greece (4) Thailand (4) 5 Philippines (3) New Zealand (3) Malaysia (3) Indonesia (3) 9 Seychelles (2) Barbados (2) Spain (2) Brazil (2) India (2) Japan (2) South Africa (2) France (2) Belize (2) Mexico (2) Vietnam (2) Italy (2) SourceC NN's Top 100 Beaches "