Conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has compiled the latest report how countries balance economic growth with ecological conservation and Australia is in the top 10, closely behind the United States and the Arab nations Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE.

Countries with very high standards of living are actually the ones that bring forth more ecological destruction. However, Australia was able to score low and has been able to reduce the impact of environmental destruction while maintaining economic development.

WWF chief executive Dermot O'Gorman told ABC News "interestingly other countries which have similar or higher living standards than Australia also rank lower. It shows that we can reduce the impact that we have on the planet while still maintaining the level of development."

The results of the survey were calculated by comparing renewable resources consumed against the Earth's regenerative capacity, the report said.

The world's top 10 polluters:

1. Qatar
2. Kuwait
3. United Arab Emirates
4. Denmark
5. Belgium
6. United States
7. Australia
8. Canada
9. Netherlands
10. Ireland

Australia