Danes are the happiest people in the world, according to a new survey published on Friday that measures health, wealth, education, sense of identity and the aesthetic quality of the landscape.
The survey follows another earlier this month that said the tiny South Pacific Ocean archipelago of Vanuatu was the happiest country on Earth.
Friday’s study, published by a University of Leicester academic who produced a World Map of Happiness, showed seven of the top 10 happiest countries were Western democracies, with the Bahamas, Bhutan and Brunei being the exceptions.
The United States ranks 23rd, Germany comes in at number 35, Britain ranks 41st and South Africa 109th.
“When people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good health care, a higher GDP [gross domestic product] per capita and access to education were much more likely to report being happy,” said Adrian White, the social psychologist who carried out the study.
“The frustrations of modern life, and the anxieties of the age, seem to be much less significant compared to the health, financial and educational needs in other parts of the world.”
White’s analysis was based on the findings of more than 100 different studies questioning 80 000 people around the world. — AFP
The top 10 were:
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. Bahamas
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Bhutan
9. Brunei
10. Canada