standard of living

IELTS use

Frequent in discussions about quality of life, economic development, and social policy in task 2 essays and speaking part 3.

Examples

1. Improving the standard of living for all citizens should be a priority for governments.
2. The standard of living in developed nations is generally higher than in developing countries.
3. In my opinion, a high standard of living includes not only income but also access to healthcare and education.

Collocations

improve the standard of living

Investing in infrastructure can significantly improve the standard of living in rural areas.

high standard of living

Countries with a high standard of living tend to have strong social safety nets.

standard of living has risen

Over the past century, the standard of living has risen dramatically in many regions.

measure the standard of living

Economists often use GDP per capita to measure the standard of living.

Paraphrases

• quality of life: Very common in IELTS; slightly broader, including non-material aspects.
• living standards: Plural form; interchangeable in most contexts.
• level of material comfort: More formal; useful for academic writing to show precision.

Common mistakes

• standard of life to standard of living. 'Standard of living' is the fixed phrase; 'standard of life' is not used.
• high living standard to high standard of living. The preposition 'of' is required in this common collocation.
• standard of living only means money to standard of living includes money, health, and education. IELTS tasks often require a nuanced understanding of the term.