The list of happy countries is topped by Denmark, overtaking Switzerland as the happiest place in the world based on a report on Wednesday. The report calls countries to protect the environment and address the issue of inequality regardless of wealth.
The Happy countries report, which was prepared by the Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, or SDSN, mentioned Afghanistan, Syria and other eight sub-Saharan nations in the 10 least happy countries, News reported.
Happy countries that were included in the top 10 list were Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Iceland and Australia. 2015, Denmark was only in the third place, behind Switzerland and Iceland.
The bottom 10 includes Tanzania, Madagascar, Liberia, Rwanda, Guinea, Togo, Benin, Afghanistan, Syria and Burundi.The United States placed 13, France at 32, the United Kingdom at 23 and Italy at 50.
According to Professor Jefferey Sachs, special advisor to UN Sec. General Ban Ki-moon and head of the SDSN, there is a powerful message for the US, which is very wealthy and has gotten ever richer for the past 50 years, yet has gotten no happier.
Sachs also added that although the differences between the nations where the citizens are happy and those that are not can be measured scientifically, it is easy to understand the reason behind and do something about it. He further stated that for a country like the US that only chases money, the wrong things are eventually chased, while the social trust, the social fabric and the faith in government begins to deteriorate.
The Happy countries fourth edition report, with an aim to obtain the scientific underpinnings of measuring and analyzing the subjective well-being, places 157 countries by the levels of happiness with the use of factors like healthy years of life expectancy and per capita gross domestic product.
Happy countries were also rated based on “having someone to depend on in times of trouble”, as well as the freedom from corruption in business and government, Tribune reported.
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