The Happiest County In The World Is
July 4th, 2008 by GiGiThe US government likes to spend money. Just take a look at their debt and you won’t be surprised that they fund the World Values Survey which is done regularly by a global network of social scientists.
The survey interviewed people worldwide and posed the question “Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?” And, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”
The results of the survey? The world is getting happier and the happiest country is Denmark, with its democracy, social equality and peaceful atmosphere.
Zimbabwe, torn by political and social strife, is the least happy, while the world’s richest nation, the United States, ranks 16th.
It found increased happiness from 1981 to 2007 in 45 of 52 countries analyzed.
“I strongly suspect that there is a strong correlation between peace and happiness,” said Ronald Inglehart, a political scientist at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, who directed the study.
And, said Ingelhart, there is a strong correlation between happiness and democracy.
Puerto Rico and Colombia also rank highly, along with Northern Ireland, Iceland, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden.
“Though by no means the happiest country in the world, from a global perspective the United States looks pretty good,” Inglehart said. “The country is not only prosperous; it ranks relatively high in gender equality, tolerance of ethnic and social diversity and has high levels of political freedom.”
The survey, first done in 1981, has kept to two simple questions:
“Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?” And, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”
Writing in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, Ingelhart’s team said they have surveyed 350,000 people.
“Ultimately, the most important determinant of happiness is the extent to which people have free choice in how to live their lives,” Inglehart said.
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