How to measure happiness?
Greek philosopher Aristotle talked about two kinds of happiness: hedonic, meaning pleasure
gained from experiences, that kind of instant gratification.
Then there’s eudaimonic happiness, which is more related to sustained happiness, self-realization,
and a sense of well-being.
If you are happy and you know it…you might be wrong.
There’s this thing called the “pleasure paradox”, which is you thinking certain
things make you happy when they don’t.
Then there’s “synthetic happiness,” which is our brains convincing us we are happy
when we are not, just because reality would hurt too much.
Despite the difficulties of measuring the happiness of one-person, entire countries
are judged for their happiness.
There’s even a World Map of Happiness.
Today, we’ll look at the leaders of the world in happiness, in this episode of the
Infographics Show, Top 20 Happiest Countries in The World.
The World Happiness Report takes 156 countries and measures their happiness by six variables:
income and what you can do with it; life expectancy; social support & safety nets; personal freedoms;
trust, in terms of how you trust the government or police, laws, or even matters related to
business, basically how people perceive corruption; and lastly, generosity, as in charity and
how much is shared or given away.
Around 2,000 to 3,000 people in every country are asked to answer questions based on these
variables.
At the bottom of this year’s list were Yemen, Tanzania, South Sudan, Central African Republic,
and Burundi, so people in those countries likely have a hard time for the most part.
But who is in the top 20?
20.
United Arab Emirates This is the happiest country in the Arab world.
Behind is Qatar at 32, Saudi Arabia at 33, Bahrain at 43, and Kuwait at 45.
Sometimes said to be a dangerous part of the world, UAE goes against that grain.
One expat wrote about living there, “Everything is there for you with full convenience, accessibility,
and safety, what more could one ask for?”
It’s said to be a melting pot of nationalities and ethnicities, but has little discrimination.
But there are some people who do suffer, and human rights organizations say these are the
many exploited workers who labor there.
19.
The United Kingdom The country that still, to some extent, has
a class system, is high up in terms of happiness.
Those Brits might like to complain about the terrible weather, the price of late trains,
Brexit, lizard queens, and football teams that never win, but they are actually happy
according to this report.
They get free healthcare if they are willing to wait for it, with their marvelous (some
say getting less marvelous) national health scheme.
No job, no problem, you can get money from the government (people in many countries don’t
have welfare).
And when things get too bad for those Brits, there’s always a pub down the street full
of merry men and women and a cheap flight to the Costa del somewhere.
18.
United States of America What did Brit sage and TV star Stephen Fry
say about America, after making a series about the country?
He said people were just very bloody positive compared to the downcast Brits.
Ok, some people have it tough...there’s discrimination, racism, healthcare bills that
can ruin your life, rampant crime, and almost entire towns hooked on Oxys and Xanax, but
the American Dream is alive and well in some people’s hearts.
America still is a land of opportunity.
While 18th place isn’t bad, some American media said the ranking was depressing because
it was quite a slide from recent years.
The reason for the slide?
Physical and mental health apparently; some Americans eat too much as we know, and an
obesity crisis has led to widespread bad health.
Pizza for school lunch might make some kids happy, but things tend to get worse in adulthood.
There’s also the aforementioned substance abuse, and Big Pharma being hard at work curing
all kinds of mental strife.
America has the world at its feet, great opportunities for hard workers, safety nets in place, a
decent standard of education, but people need to stop abusing themselves and do the Buddhist
thing and be moderate.
17.
Luxembourg The average Luxembourger is quite happy.
Like America, the Grand Duchy fell a few places this year.
This is a tiny yet expensive country, that is said to be home to more expats than any
other European country.
There are three languages: French, German, and Lëtzebuergesch (Luxembourgish) spoken
by just over half a million people.
Yes, that’s more like a city-size.
98 percent of the population have free healthcare and its said to be one of the best in the
world.
Borgen writes that most people live comfortably here, although a few people do live in relative
poverty.
But the average per capita wage is $46,591 so it can’t be too bad.
There’s hardly any crime, either.
16.
Belgium Maybe it’s all the great beer and chocolate,
but it’s more than that that makes Belgium a happy country.
Borgen says that poverty rates are low, but 6 percent of the country’s population do
live with “severe material deprivation”, meaning they don’t have much at all.
Social support and GDP were the main factors for the high ranking, with no mention at all
about chocolate.
15.
Germany Cost of living in Germany is reasonable, and
with a high GDP and strong industry, there is much room to do well in Germany.
One American writer on Quora who had lived in Germany praised the country, saying, “Infrastructure
is excellent as is anything that has to do with technology.
You feel the high-tech everywhere you go.
Both the cities and countryside makes you feel like you are living on a very advanced
planet.”
Ok, so it’s organized to a degree that is annoying at times, as some say, overly bureaucratic,
but if you work hard here you will likely have many opportunities.
On the downside, the American expat said Germans are way too afraid of all kinds of authority,
making life oppressive at times.
14.
Ireland Many English people hop over to Ireland and
say, “Oh, what a beautiful country…and the people are so friendly.”
It’s said the Irish like having a good time, enjoying what they call the Craic (pronounced
crack).
Ok, so there were troubles not long ago, and to some, that might make Ireland look rather
grim, but nowadays, according to OECD, the economy is good, average earnings are good,
and it seems things in Ireland, in almost all categories, are just getting better.
One other thing that is said to be good in Ireland is community spirit and the fact that
people can rely on that community.
It’s also a bonus if you travel to America, ‘cos everyone there seems to love a real
Irish person.
13.
Costa Rica This is some accomplishment by Costa Rica,
given that it’s the only country in this part of the world to make the list.
We don’t just mean Central America, but South America, too.
What’s so good about the country?
The Huffington Post writes about this favorite tourist and expat haunt, saying the life is
just good, good and good here.
Life expectancy is high, state healthcare is said to be great, and the economy is strong
at the moment.
It’s also said that the country has a very fair and democratic government, with not much
corruption compared to nearby countries.
According to the US government, crime is pretty low too, especially for this region of the
world.
There were 603 homicides in 2017, which aint bad really- and that was a record high.
12.
Austria This country has few poor people.
It ranks high in income standards, housing standards, health, well-being, crime, or lack
thereof, environmental quality, and education.
There’s hardly any crime, and you have great scenery all over the place.
What’s more, Austria is a pretty place to live.
In some surveys, Vienna was ranked the best place to live in the world.
11.
Israel If you think that because of ongoing conflicts,
Israel is a crappy place to live, you are wrong.
The average income of most people is good, and life expectancy is very high.
Although, OECD says education and skills, housing standards, environmental quality,
how much you work, and your social connections are all below average.
People work too much we are told, but what you get for your money is not too bad.
10.
Australia Ever watched the TV shows “Neighbors”
or “Home and Away”?
If you had, you might think living here was a walk in the park.
It seems you don’t work too much, and spend half your life at the beach, or at least in
those shows anyway.
If you’ve ever listened to Nick Cave, the Australian musician, you might have a different
opinion.
It’s expensive, but wages are good.
The economy is great, the sun shines a lot, and the crime rate isn’t that high.
In fact, the country just experienced its lowest murder rate ever, according to The
Guardian.
Don’t believe everything you see in those outback murder movies.
9.
Sweden We bet you knew Sweden would appear on this
list.
With good wages and a robust economy, Sweden is doing fine.
You pay loads of taxes, but you get a lot back for that.
We like what this person said on Quora, “Swedes also don’t attempt to ‘keep up with the
Joneses.’
Social competitiveness is not part of their national ethos.
This means that they are more content with what they have, and living their own lives
the way they see fit.”
That seems like the recipe for a good life if, indeed, you have all the basic necessities,
and most Swedes seem to have those.
Another Swede backed that up, saying that there are few posh areas in the country and
few deprived areas, unlike most countries in the world that have virtually no-go areas
and areas for the rich only.
8.
New Zealand New Zealand media wrote in 2015 that the country
has “the world's third-highest material standard of living.”
They might not earn as much as people from some other countries, but they get a lot for
their money.
Education is excellent, healthcare is free, and you’ve got that amazing countryside
that you may have seen in the Lord of the Rings movies.
Nonetheless, the Guardian writes that there are those that get left behind, and poverty
is a shameful secret of the country.
“Catch a bus or two from Britomart in central Auckland, and after an hour and a half, you
will arrive in the urban slum of South Auckland,” said the article.
7.
Canada So, what about the Canucks, do they have poverty?
Anyone who’s ventured into the meanest streets of Toronto or Montreal can tell you of course
they do.
But on the whole, Canada has a good distribution of wealth, not much crime, not much discrimination,
considering it’s so diverse, and good education.
If you come from a poor country and visit parts of Ottawa, you might think you are living
in a kind of wonderland.
Ok, so some parts of the country seem kinda dull and downtrodden, but in general, most
people agree that Canada is just cool, if not too cold in parts.
6.
Netherlands Talking about dull, the Netherlands can be
a bit grey at times.
But OECD says this, “The Netherlands ranks top in work-life balance and above the average
in income and wealth, jobs and earnings, housing, education and skills, subjective well-being,
social connections, environmental quality, personal safety, civic engagement, and health
status.”
You could say, in some respects, the Netherlands is similar to Canada in that many people often
have a very liberal attitude.
That means a lot in terms of happiness.
They eat well, embrace fun, cycle around a lot, and if you should fall off that bike,
they have one of the best healthcare systems in the world.
It’s free of course, but your employer will take some cash for the mandatory healthcare
system.
5.
Switzerland It might be one of the most expensive places
to live in the world, but it’s also home to people who, for the most part, can afford
it.
“If disposable income is the benchmark for living standards, then Switzerland is the
third best placed country in Europe,” writes Swiss Info.
There is free healthcare, free education, a stable political climate, and almost no
crime.
On Quora, someone called the country “heaven on Earth.”
If you can afford it, you’ve also got that amazing countryside you can wander around.
Bergen tells us only one in 13 people live below the poverty line.
4.
Iceland The home of great musicians such as Bjork
and Sigur Ros, but also the home of 86 percent of people that have a job, if they are at
an employable age.
Life expectancy is high, at 83.
Saying that, we found a source that said Icelanders are dying to live abroad.
Maybe all that fresh air isn’t always a good thing.
BTW, Ireland, also on our list, was number one for citizens that move abroad.
3.
Denmark Flat, grey Denmark- could it really be all
that happy?
Well, like its neighbor Sweden, Danish folks just have a great safety net.
It’s hard to be poor there, like, really poor.
But one source says it’s not all about money, but more the culture, and also the leisure
time and family life that people enjoy.
There were only 39 murders in 2017; meanwhile California had 1,930 murders in 2016.
2.
Norway Norway is happy, despite some of those living
in the north spending months in darkness.
If you’ve taken a trip to this magical country, you’ll know something else: it’s unbelievably
expensive.
Still, there’s hardly any poverty; you will likely live a long time (81.3 is the average),
and if you live there as an adult, there is little chance you’ll be unemployed, and
if you have a job, you’ll likely earn enough to afford the expensive meals for two.
There is virtually no poverty here, and we don’t mean relative poverty, but people
in the streets begging or pushing trolleys down the street.
Free healthcare, a great system of education, a healthy environment, who wouldn’t want
to live here?
1.
Finland Ok, so the top of the list has one of the
highest suicide rates in the developed world.
Go figure.
This is one reason we said at the start that happiness is hard to measure.
Is it the lack of sun, or the Sami culture of men not being able to express their emotions?
We don’t know, but Finland enjoys a maverick educational system where students study less
and learn more, great healthcare, a vibrant economy, and good infrastructure.
The Economist tried to explain why Fins are so happy and the answer was people just have
it easy.
They trust their government, trust their police, believe in their teachers, have little discrimination,
have equal opportunities, a good spread of wealth, and hardly any crime.
Now, we just need to figure out why so many Fins are offing themselves.
So, do you live in one of these countries?
Does it seem like the life is happy there?
Let us know in the comments!
Also be sure to check out our other video called Hardest Languages to Learn.
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!