What makes happiness? Not money, obviously, although you can be miserable in comfort. According to the World Happiness Report — yes, there really is such a thing, you haven’t stumbled into Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood — key ingredients for a nation’s happiness are GDP, life expectancy, levels of corruption in government, and social support. Iceland and Ireland scored well in the last regard. “The percentage of people who report that they have someone to count on in times of crisis is exceptionally high in Iceland and Ireland,” reports the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The report gathered data from 157 countries between 2013 and 2015. Denmark is the happiest place on Earth (then again, if your country was filled with pleasant, tall, ridiculously good-looking people who are environmentally-friendly and enjoy free education and healthcare, you’d be happy too. Plus, of course, LEGO.) Greece had the biggest decline in happiness since the last World Happiness Report, and poor old Burundi ranks as the least happy place on the planet.
.jpg){kind=link}