According to a study, palliative care in the UK is the best in the world, according to a study, Yahoo news reports.

The study placed Australia as the second best nation for palliative care, followed by New Zealand. Ireland, Belgium, Taiwan and Germany were among the top 10 countries in the world for good care. They were followed by the US, the Netherlands and France.

Iraq, Bamgladesh, China, Iran and Guatemala were among the worst performers.

The study undertook research across 80 countries.

However, Marie Curie said there should be no "business as usual approach" following the report.

Simon Jones, director of policy and public affairs at Marie Curie, said: "While we recognise the great work that makes the UK a world leader in palliative care, we know from our own research that each year around 110,000 people are missing out on care that they urgently need.

"If there is a 'business as usual' approach following this report, then we will only see more cases of vulnerable people failing to get the care they need.

"One in five people who die in the UK are not getting the care they need. This quite simply is not good enough.

"With more people dying each year, the demand for compassionate palliative care will only increase."

The rankings were based on the hospice environments, staffing numbers and skills, affordability of care and quality of care.

Annie Pannelay, author of the new report, said: "The UK is an acknowledged leader in palliative care.

"But there is more that the UK could do to stay at the forefront of palliative care standards, such as ironing out occasional problems with communication or symptom control."