October 28, 2010

Who's the Happiest of them All?

while every girls are trying to put their status as Paris, Miami, or New York in facebook, i thought of searching about these countries until i decided to search about different places in the world. i saw a lot of most's in google (most beautiful, most scenic even most corrupt, etc.) and i wonder if there is such survey about the world's HAPPIEST country. to my surprise, there really is such survey as that and this is what i'll share to you. let's know who's the happiest of them all.

HAPPINESS is something that is very hard to be measured. The meaning of happiness is different to everyone. What can make me happy sometimes doesn't mean anything to others and vice versa. Some people are happy when it is raining while some are happy when the sun is brightly shining. Some loves the sunset, some loves the sun rise more. Happiness is very subjective so i really salute who did and how this survey was done.

How was this survey done? Researchers at the Gallup World Poll went about it by surveying thousands of respondents in 155 countries, between 2005 and 2009, in order to measure two types of well-being.

First they asked subjects to reflect on their overall satisfaction with their lives, and ranked their answers using a "life evaluation" score from 1 to 10. Then they asked questions about how each subject had felt the previous day. Those answers allowed researchers to score their "daily experiences"--things like whether they felt well-rested, respected, free of pain and intellectually engaged. Subjects that reported high scores were considered "thriving." The percentage of thriving individuals in each country determined the rankings.

Who's the Happiest of them All? Here are the TOP 10 HAPPIEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD:

10. Australia
Australia is the only country in the world, that consists of an entire continent. Between 1788 and 1868 the British used Australia as a colony to deport their convicted criminals – these people are the predecessors to many of today’s citizens. Australians are famous for playing rugby and calling each-other “mates.”

9. Switzerland
Possibly, it is the chocolate, the superior cuisine, other the forever present “efficiency” of the each and everything starting from the watches to the vehicles, on the other hand it is not just the citizens of this country who enjoy each and everything that is “Swiss”. Switzerland is also one of the few frequently visited tourist destinations in Europe.

8. Canada
Canada is known to be the second largest country in the world. It is the largest country in North America. Canada is well-known all across the world for its huge unharmed landscape and the unique culture. Also, it is one of the major tourist destinations around the world. It is regarded as one of the wealthiest countries all over the world. The locals here are extremely friendly and welcome overseas tourists with their arms stretched out.

7. New Zealand
New Zealand's quality of life/cost of living balance is fair meaning that you don’t have to work ridiculously long hours to achieve a decent standard of living. Real estate values haven’t rocketed as high as Britain’s did in direct comparison, making it still a nation where you can afford a decent home – and the natural environment in New Zealand is enough to lift your spirits on a daily basis!

6. Costa Rica
Costa Rica wins the day, for achieving contentment and longevity in an environmentally sustainable way. It has done an unusually good job preserving nature, and it’s surely easier to be happy while basking in sunshine and greenery than while shivering up north and suffering “nature deficit disorder."

5. Netherlands
Residents of the Netherlands are the most satisfied with the areas where they live, according to a survey of 23 countries. Market research company asked about 23,000 people if they were satisfied with their local area and found that job prospects, clean streets and the level of crime and public transport were major factors in people's happiness.

4. Sweden
Sweden attracts numerous tourists every year, due to its charming towns, exceptional food, extensive parks, and its massage parlor, each and everything adds up together to make Sweden one of the few happiest locations all over the world. Contrary to popular belief, Swedes are quite OK with their high taxes. After all it gives them tons of free and high quality services – what’s not to be happy about!

3. Norway
Norway tops the annual Prosperity Index that covers 90% of the world’s population and takes into account education, health, personal freedom, safety, security and democracy. This are the major needs of the people in a certain country, nobody can't be happy when these all are given!



2. Finland
This is the country that brought us Nokia – the worlds largest manufacturer of mobile phones. In 2003 Nokia accounted for about a quarter of Finland’s exports and in 2006 it generated more revenue than the entire budget of Finland. Before starting to make mobile phones Nokia made (yes, it’s true) rubber boots! According to World Economic Forum Finland has the most competitive economy in the world. Plenty to be happy about!

1. Denmark
Just like Sweden, Denmark is a Nordic welfare state with most of its services free to the citizens. Expect to pay 72% of your money to the government on the highest income tax bracket. According to Wikipedia, Denmark has the worlds highest taxes! When buying a car in Denmark one has to pay 25% VAT to the import price of the vehicle and then a 180% registration tax on top. That’s why people in Denmark ride bikes or use one of the best public transport systems in the world. The country of Denmark is renowned for its lenient policies, which includes the legalization of drugs and prostitution. It is also famous for its undisturbed and friendly speed, the lovely architecture, excellent cuisine and the traditional welcome that is offered to all of its foreign visitors. A lot to be happy about!


another thing i've read states that Money Matters.
The Gallup researchers found evidence of what many have long suspected: money does buy happiness--at least a certain kind of it. In a related report, they studied the reasons why countries with high gross domestic products won out for well-being, and found an association between life satisfaction and income.

oh i wanna see these places!

it's nice to know things like these. i am hoping that one day, Philippines will be listed as one of the world's happiest countries. let us do our part in making it happen. in the end, still, HAPPINESS IS OUR CHOICE, right?

one thing i like about this blog post? sssshhhhh. it's the top 1! haha! :)

here's the complete list:

RANK
(BY % THRIVING)
COUNTRYREGIONPERCENT
THRIVING
PERCENT
STRUGGLING
PERCENT
SUFFERING
DAILY
EXPERIENCE
1DenmarkEurope821717.9
2FinlandEurope752327.8
3NorwayEurope693107.9
4SwedenEurope683027.9
4NetherlandsEurope683217.7
6Costa RicaAmericas633528.1
6New ZealandAsia633527.6
8CanadaAmericas623627.6
8SwitzerlandEurope623627.6
8AustraliaAsia623537.5
8IsraelAsia623536.4
12BrazilAmericas584027.5
12PanamaAmericas583938.4
14United StatesAmericas574037.3
14AustriaEurope574037.7
16BelgiumEurope564137.3
17United KingdomEurope544427.4
18MexicoAmericas524357.7
18TurkmenistanAsia524717.5
20United Arab EmiratesAsia514817.7
21VenezuelaAmericas504828.0
22IrelandEurope494927.5
23Puerto RicoAmericas474587.6
23KuwaitAsia475037.0
23IcelandEurope474948.2
26ColombiaAmericas464777.7
26JamaicaAmericas464957.7
28CyprusAsia455056.6
28LuxembourgEurope455417.3
30ArgentinaAmericas445067.8
30BelizeAmericas445066.8
30Trinidad and TobagoAmericas445157.9
33GermanyEurope435077.4
34El SalvadorAmericas425177.7
35QatarAsia415816.8
35ChileAmericas415277.3
35UruguayAmericas415457.5
38GuatemalaAmericas4050107.7
38MaltaEurope4048126.6
40Czech RepublicEurope395196.6
40ItalyEurope395477.1
42HondurasAmericas3749147.5
43SpainEurope365867.0
44Dominican RepublicAmericas3554117.3
44FranceEurope356067.0
46BoliviaAmericas345977.0
46EcuadorAmericas3452157.6
48ParaguayAmericas325998.3
48BahrainAsia3245237.0
50GuyanaAmericas316457.0
50GreeceEurope3157117.0
52NicaraguaAmericas3053177.4
52JordanAsia306186.7
54BelarusEurope2959126.5
54KosovoEurope296566.2
56South KoreaAsia2861126.9
56PolandEurope2861107.1
58SloveniaEurope2757166.8
58Saudi ArabiaAsia276936.7
58PakistanAsia2750236.2
61CroatiaEurope2660146.2
61MontenegroEurope2658166.2
63MoldovaEurope2562136.1
63LithuaniaEurope2557186.2
63PeruAmericas2565117.2
63MalawiAfrica2564108.0
67Libya*Africa246886.0
67BotswanaAfrica2465117.3
67Cuba*Americas2466116.7
70KazakhstanAsia227267.2
70TaiwanAsia2264147.5
70PortugalEurope2261177.1
73South AfricaAfrica217187.3
73LebanonAsia2164156.3
73RussiaEurope2157227.0
73UkraineEurope2153266.6
73RomaniaEurope2156236.6
73SlovakiaEurope2160196.5
79ThailandAsia207558.0
79Bosnia and HerzegovinaEurope2059206.2
81IranAsia1966146.3
81Hong KongAsia1965167.1
81SingaporeAsia197566.9
81JapanAsia1969127.4
85UzbekistanAsia187567.8
85NigeriaAfrica187847.3
85IndonesiaAsia1872108.2
85SomalilandAfrica187757.1
85AlgeriaAfrica187766.7
90EstoniaEurope1762216.8
91SerbiaEurope1663216.2
91BangladeshAsia1671136.9
91Myanmar*Asia168227.1
94MalaysiaAsia158058.1
94PhilippinesAsia1568187.2
96CameroonAfrica147797.0
96TunisiaAfrica147796.8
96ZambiaAfrica147887.6
96YemenAsia1462246.3
96VietnamAsia1476106.9
96Palestinian TerritoriesAsia1470155.8
96MacedoniaEurope1454326.8
103TurkeyAsia1367206.0
103KyrgyzstanAsia138177.3
103AzerbaijanAsia1370176.6
103HungaryEurope1353346.9
103AlbaniaEurope1367195.6
108Central African RepublicAfrica1275136.4
108EthiopiaAfrica1267216.4
110AngolaAfrica118186.8
110ArmeniaAsia1155335.9
110IraqAsia1171185.2
110LatviaEurope1164256.5
110NamibiaAfrica1179108.1
115AfghanistanAsia1069216.2
115ZimbabweAfrica1073177.3
115MoroccoAfrica1080107.0
115Sri LankaAsia1066246.9
115IndiaAsia1069216.9
115SyriaAsia1066246.8
115GeorgiaAsia1056356.2
115MauritaniaAfrica108377.2
115MozambiqueAfrica1078117.2
115EgyptAfrica1071196.1
125KenyaAfrica978137.5
125GhanaAfrica98387.5
125ChinaAsia977147.6
128GuineaAfrica88937.1
128Congo (Brazzaville)Africa873206.9
130SudanAfrica781127.4
130DjiboutiAfrica78687.5
130MadagascarAfrica784107.0
130NepalAsia782117.4
130MongoliaAsia781127.0
130LaosAsia78947.1
130TajikistanAsia774196.5
137UgandaAfrica671236.8
137TanzaniaAfrica670247.5
137SenegalAfrica68867.3
137BulgariaEurope658366.5
141ChadAfrica58877.1
141LiberiaAfrica59056.7
141MaliAfrica577188.0
144HaitiAmericas460356.2
144BeninAfrica480166.7
144Congo (Kinshasa)Africa485116.4
144Ivory CoastAfrica484127.2
148NigerAfrica386117.9
148RwandaAfrica375227.8
148Burkina FasoAfrica371266.5
148Sierra LeoneAfrica374236.3
148CambodiaAsia375227.6
153ComorosAfrica275237.7
153BurundiAfrica258407.5
155TogoAfrica167315.0
source: The World's Happiest Countries

2 comments:

  1. Denmark is on the top of the list and for sure at the top of your heart.HAHAHA :)

    ReplyDelete