Denmark Crowned The World’s Most Happiest Country 2012
Northern European countries dominate as the happiest country in the world. Conclusions are based on a survey conducted by the United Nations. The result, Denmark ranks at the top.
The next sequence is occupied by Finland, Norway, Netherlands, and Canada. As for Saudi Arabia, the richest country in the world, just “sitting” at No. 26 as the most happy.
Other countries are incorporated into the GCC (Cooperation of the Gulf States), the UAE ranks 17th, Kuwait ranked 29th, and Qatar is ranked 31.
The rankings in the report were based on a number called the “life evaluation score,” a measurement which takes into account a variety of factors including people’s health, family and job security as well as social factors like political freedom and government corruption. It also looks at measurements from previous reports on happiness from the Gallup World Poll (GWP), the World Values Survey (WVS), the European Values Survey (EVS), and the European Social Survey (ESS).
In the introduction to the report, co-editors John Helliwell, Richard Layard and Jeffrey Sachs explain that the report aims in part to evaluate happiness based on a more comprehensive measurement system that can be used to inform policy-makers. As the Atlantic explains, previous reports on happiness have linked personal contentment to income, but that correlation has been challenged in recent years by economists who have argued that the happiness of a nation is determined by far more than its Gross National Product.
“While basic living standards are essential for happiness, after the baseline has been met happiness varies more with the quality of human relationship than with income,” the report read. “Policy goals should include high employment and high-quality work; a strong community with high levels of trust and respect, which government can influence through inclusive participatory policies; improved physical and mental health; support of family life; and a decent education for all.”
Based on its “life evaluation score,” which is rated on a scale of 0-to-10, the report found that Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands outstripped all other nations with an average score of 7.6 between them.
According to statistics released by the office of the Ministry of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia, the country’s per capita income reached SR 49 thousand. Compare GDP per capita in Denmark, which reached U.S. $ 63 thousand.
The UN survey also mentions also that the record of the nation’s most unhappy “held” by the countries in Africa. The lowest order as the country is unhappy in Togo, Benin, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Comoro, Haiti, and Tanzania.
Recent Comments