What is Happiness, how to measure happiness?
The
Greek philosopher Aristotle talked about two kinds of happiness: hedonic,
meaning pleasure gained from experiences, that kind of instant gratification.
Then there’s eudemonic 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 Infographics Show, Top
15 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.
The top 15 happiest countries in the world,
15. Germany:
Cost
of living in Germany is reasonable, and with a high GDP and powerful industry,
there's much room to try to 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 the countryside make 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 ex-pat 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 gorgeous 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 favourite tourist and ex-pat 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 am not 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 has 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. 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
its 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 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 some 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 Canada
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, atmosphere quality, personally secure, civic
engagement, and health status.” you'll say, in some respects, the Netherlands
is analogous to Canada therein many of us often have a 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 income is that
the benchmark for living standards, then Switzerland is that 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 Sager Ros, but also the home of
86 per cent 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 be all that happy? Well, like it's neighbour Sweden,
Denmark 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:
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 life is happy there? Let us know in the comments!
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