In Latin American and Caribbean nations, Barbados again headed the list, in 29th place. Argentina ranked 34th, Chile, 43; Costa Rica, 45; Uruguay, 46; Bahamas, 51; Cuba, 52; Mexico, 53; Venezuela, 68. Surprisingly, Brazil dropped to 72nd place, one above Colombia, compared to last year when it ranked 65th. . In Asia, Hong Kong was in 23rd place and Singapore in 25th, South Korea in 28th, Thailand, 76; Philippines, 83; China, 94; India 127; Bangladesh 138 and Pakistan 142. . In the Middle East, Israel led the list in 22nd place, followed by Cyprus in 30th place, Bahrain, 40; Kuwait, 44; Qatar, 47; United Arab Emirates, 49; Libya, 58; Oman 74; Saudi Arabia, 77; Lebanon, 80; Jordan, 90; Tunisia, 92; Palestinian territories 102; Syria, 106; Algeria, 108; Egypt, 120; Morocco, 125 and Yemen, 149. .UNITED NATIONS Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands ranked as the best five countries to live in but Africaýs quality of life plummeted because of AIDS, said a U.N. report released on Thursday. . The United States was ranked in eighth place, a drop of one position from 2003 in the report that rates not only per-capita income but also educational levels, health care and life expectancy in measuring a nationýs well-being. . The Human Development Index, prepared by the U.N. Development Program, is issued annually and includes every country for which statistics are available. . Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Liberia were among nations not included because of lack of data. .