A recent survey published by the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom named Denmark "the happiest place on earth." I immediately wondered whether the survey was taken after violence against Danes flared up in the Muslim world following the publication of controversial cartoons in the Danish Jylland-Posten newspaper in September 2005. If I were Danish, I still would not wear a Danish flag when traveling outside Europe for fear of possible reprise.
I noted that the United States is ranked higher than most European countries, with the exception of Scandinavian countries and other small states such as Switzerland and Austria. European countries traditionally rank high in terms of quality of life, and many people assume that European life is more satisfying (happy) than American life. That may not be the case. At the same time, Americans often seem discontent and angst-ridden, particularly when it comes to dealing with world events, politics, and economics. Perhaps life is not as bad as it seems to some Americans.
I also thought it interesting that residents of the New World (North and South) appear to be generally happier than those in the Old World (with the exception of Cubans), and although Asian and Oceania Pacific Rim nations ranked generally lower, as a group their happiness factors were higher than those in Central/South Asia and the Middle East. One big surprise–Saudi Arabia. Perhaps Saudis are among the happiest people because they are flush with petrodollars. African nations, as expected, generally ranked at the bottom of the survey.
Here’s a condensed list of country listed in order of their happiness factor:
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. The Bahamas
23. United States of America
41. United Kingdom
82. China
90. Japan
125. India
177. Zimbabwe
178. Burundi
