Post by annabanana on Jul 28, 2006 12:01:11 GMT -8
Forget tropical islands and 24-hour party capitals - the happiest place to live is Denmark, according to the world's first world map of happiness.
Despite the cold climate and often bleak landscape, Scandinavia has happiness wrapped up with four countries in the top seven. The UK comes 41st, which 'is quite good' according to the psychologist who created the map.
Apparently the success of Denmark, Iceland (4th), Finland (6th) and Sweden (7th) is down to health, money and education, factors which were found to make people happiest after extensive surveys of over 80,000 people worldwide.
Researchers analysed more than 100 studies around the world, carried out by organisations including the World Health Organisation, UNESCO and the CIA.
Despite often being seen as boring, Switzerland and Austria were in the top three of happiest places to live. less surprisingly, The Bahamas were fifth.
Oil-rich Brunei (9th), Ireland (11th), Luxembourg (12th), USA (23rd) and Germany (35th) were all judged to be happier than Britain, but the French are more miserable, 19 places below us.
The most depressing country to live in is war-ravaged Burundi in Africa at number 178. It is one of the poorest countries in the world with low-levels of natural resources. Zimbabwe, with an economy in freefall was almost as miserable at number 177, and another war-torn African country, Democratic Republic of Congo 176th.
Adrian White, an analytical social psychologist from the University of Leicester who created the map, said: "The map is very useful to predict how people will do in their lives. If you are happy you will be more confident and motivated to do well.
"Analysis showed that a nation's level of happiness was most closely associated with health levels, followed by wealth, and then provision of education. The frustrations of modern life, and the anxieties of the age, seem to be much less significant compared to these.
"This is not happiness as an emotional state but more as an underlying sense of well-being in life.
"There is a definite relationship between levels of happiness and the likelihood of being depressed, alcoholic, homeless or a drug addict.
"I think there is a parallel between the state of a nation and an individual. If you are very depressed, you are less likely to go out and be ambitious which obviously impacts on the economy, creating a vicious circle of poverty and depression.
"Scandinavian countries have done so well firstly because they are rich with good healthcare and education systems. They also have a sense of collectivity and community because of a strong national identity. Bigger countries are often more fragmented and people there may not feel they are making so much of a difference. While not such a big indicator of happiness, this is also a factor.
"We also found that living in beautiful rural areas increased happiness by a small factor. However countries in Africa are very beautiful but more important factors there that reduce happiness are people dying of preventable diseases and war."
The researchers argue that regular testing would enable us to track changes in happiness and the extent that events such as war, famine or a national success would have on a nation's happiness.
Mr White said: "Governments can ensure their citizens are happy by ensuring everybody has access to these facilities. Whilst collecting data on subjective well-being is not an exact science, the measures used are very reliable in predicting health and welfare outcomes.
"We were surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low, with China 82nd, Japan 90th and India 125th. These are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being.
"It is also notable that many of the largest countries in terms of population do quite badly. With China 82nd, India 125th and Russia 167th it is interesting to note that larger populations are not associated with happy countries."
"There is a belief that capitalism leads to unhappy people. However, when people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher GDP per captia, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy."
Mr White analysed data published by UNESCO, the CIA, the New Economics Foundation, the WHO, the Veenhoven Database, the Latinbarometer, the Afrobarometer, and the UNHDR. It will be published in a psychology journal this September and will be presented at a conference later in the year.
The 20 happiest nations in the World are:
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. The Bahamas
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Bhutan
9. Brunei
10. Canada
11. Ireland
12. Luxembourg
13. Costa Rica
14. Malta
15. The Netherlands
16. Antigua and Barbuda
17. Malaysia
18. New Zealand
19. Norway
20. The Seychelles
Other notable results include:
23. USA
35. Germany
41. UK
62. France
82. China
90. Japan
125. India
167. Russia
The three least happy countries were:
176. Democratic Republic of the Congo
177. Zimbabwe
178. Burundi
www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=OT2727555L&news_headline=map_shows_denmark_is_happiest_place_to_live