Ranking of countries by level of happiness. Where the happiest people live: The United Nations has published a ranking of the happiest countries. Countries of the former union in the list of happy nations

March 20 is approaching - International Day of Happiness. This date for the holiday was not chosen by the United Nations by chance. Almost all over the planet March 20 is the day spring equinox when day equals night. This symbolizes that every person on the planet has equal rights for luck.

Just before this date, the World Happiness Report Update 2016 was published by order of the UN.

The report was prepared by an international panel of experts, including economists, psychologists and health experts.

According to the results of the study, the happiest are the inhabitants of Denmark. This country last year northern Europe ranked 3rd after Switzerland and Iceland.

People's happiness was assessed based on the following criteria:

Social security
Trust (opinion about the level of corruption in the country)
GDP per capita
Freedom to make decisions
Expected duration healthy life
Generosity (number of donations, charity)

Analysts at the Gallup Research Center surveyed 3,000 people in each of 157 countries. People were asked to imagine a ladder of 10 steps, the highest of which means a state of complete happiness, and the lowest - the worst conditions of life. The respondents answered which step they were on. These indicators formed the basis of the study.

The average level of happiness around the world is 5 points, that is, the world today is somewhere on the 5th step.

As can be seen from the report, residents of the Nordic countries are most satisfied with their lives.

The top five are Denmark (1), Switzerland (2), Iceland (3), Norway (4) and Finland (5). All these countries have highly developed social support population, the level of pensions is quite high. People are more confident in their future, which is important.

The people of Denmark are the happiest in the world.

Despite the fact that Danish citizens pay high taxes, a large share of these payments is invested in the system of education, health care and social support for the population. Danish students can receive good scholarships every month for 7 years. The healthcare system is at a high level, and it is free. Many Danes express confidence in the future. They are not so afraid of losing their jobs or getting sick, the state will support them at this time. Some people in Denmark admit that they only worry about the weather.

The top ten is closed by Canada (6), the Netherlands (7), New Zealand(8), Australia (9) and Sweden (10).

The US is in 13th place (up from 15th), the UK is in 23rd (21st a year ago), Australia and Canada are in the top.

In general, the most prosperous regions of the world are Europe (especially the northern part), North America, Latin America and Caribbean countries.

Burundi comes last on the list. The inhabitants of this country are suffering from unrest, the level of poverty is extremely high.

The least favorable situation is observed in Asia (southern) and Africa (sub-Saharan regions). Mostly these regions include countries at the very bottom of the list. Burundi is in 157th place. There are many riots in this country, which sometimes take a violent form. The poverty rate in Burundi is extremely high.

Countries of the former union in the list of happy nations

Russia in 2016 climbed 8 steps up - to 56th place from 64th.

Ukraine, on the contrary, dropped from 111th place to 121st.

Uzbekistan (49th place)
Kazakhstan (54)
Moldova (55)
Russia (56)
Lithuania (60)
Belarus (61)
Turkmenistan (65)
Latvia (68)
Estonia (72)
Azerbaijan (81)
Kyrgyzstan (85)
Tajikistan (100)
Armenia (121)
Ukraine (123)
Georgia (126)

The researchers also compiled a ranking of 10 countries in which the level of happiness has increased the most over the past year. Moldova, Uzbekistan, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan were among the top twenty regions where people became much happier in 2015 compared to 2014.

It is noteworthy that in this list Russia is in 10th place between Uzbekistan and Peru.

Nicaragua ranks first in the rate of growth in life satisfaction.

Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Ukraine are in the top 10 in terms of the deterioration of this indicator (the level of happiness, on the contrary, has fallen sharply). The leader of the overall ranking Denmark is also No. 20 in terms of the decline in the level of happiness (by 0.4 points), oddly enough.

Researchers' findings

After conducting a study, experts came to interesting conclusions.

First, the happiness of people depends largely on the level social inequality in society. Countries with a more equitable distribution of wealth (smaller gaps in social equity) fared significantly better. The inhabitants of these countries feel happier. Not surprisingly, the lowest level of social inequality is recorded in Denmark. In this country, the incomes of the richest people are only 5 times higher than the incomes of the poorest (the average for the countries of the world is 10). An important role in this is played by a competent tax policy.

The scientists also noted that the level of happiness of citizens does not always correspond to the standard of living in the country. This gives reason to reflect on the need for a more equitable distribution of wealth, both between countries and within the country.

Life satisfaction is influenced by a combination of economic, social and other factors on which the study was based. If a country pursues a policy aimed only at achieving economic wealth, without caring about the social and environmental well-being of the inhabitants, this often leads to a decrease in life satisfaction.

), which assessed the happiness of residents of 156 countries and the happiness of immigrants in 117 countries. Special attention This year's report focused on migration within and between countries.

Source: facebook.com/HappinessRPT/

The happiest countries in 2018

In the ranking of the most happy countries Finland came out on top in 2018. The top ten has not changed for 2 years, they only change places. Finland is followed by Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland. These countries have been at the top of the happiness ranking for the past four years.

Six criteria from which the authors of the report are repelled: GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support, personal freedom, trust and generosity. All leading countries have high values of these indicators.

World Happiness Ranking 2018

Who has changed positions in the happiness rating and by how much

An analysis of changes from 2008–2010 to 2015–2017 showed that Togo moved up the most in the ranking (by 17 positions), and the most big fall showed Venezuela - by 2.2 points on a scale from 0 to 10.

Change in the index of happiness of the countries of the world from 2008–2010 to 2015–2017

Source: World Happiness Report 2018

How did the index of happiness change by individual countries, can be seen on pages 10–15 (pdf).

Immigrant Happiness Rating

Perhaps the report's most striking finding is that countries rank in terms of happiness for their immigrant populations almost as well as for the rest of the population. The 10 happiest countries in the overall ranking also rank ten of the top 11 immigrant happiness rankings. Finland is at the top of both rankings.

The closeness of these two rankings shows that happiness can and does change depending on the quality of the society in which people live. The happiness of immigrants, like locals, depends on a number of features. social structure far beyond the higher incomes that have traditionally been seen as a source of incentives for migration. The countries with the happiest immigrants are not the richest countries. These are countries with a more balanced set of social and institutional support for a better life. However, the approximation of the immigrant's happiness to happiness local population is not complete, the effect of the "footprint" of the source country of immigration remains. This effect ranges from 10–25%. This explains why the happiness of an immigrant less happiness residents of local countries.

The report also looked at rural-to-urban migration based on the recent Chinese experience, which has been called the greatest migration in history. The experience of such migration also demonstrates the approach of migrants to the satisfaction with the life of citizens, as in international migration, but still less than the average feeling of happiness in the city.

The Importance of Social Factors

The report also discusses the importance social factors happiness for both migrants and non-migrants. The positions of the Latin American countries are due to the large warmth family and other social relations. The final part of the World Happiness Report 2018 focuses on three health problems that threaten happiness: drug addiction and. Despite the global context, most of The evidence and discussion focuses on the US, where all three problems are growing faster than most other countries.

History of the World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report was first released in April 2012 by the Solution Network sustainable development United Nations (UN SDSN).

In July 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution asking member countries to value the happiness of their people and use it to guide their public policy. April 2, 2012 the first meeting was held high level UN "Happiness and Prosperity: Defining a New Economic Paradigm" chaired by Prime Minister Jigme Thinley of Bhutan. It is the only country that has adopted gross national happiness instead of gross domestic product as the main measure of development.

Six indicators are taken into account when calculating the level of happiness

1. GDP per capita (GDP per capita) adjusted for domestic prices (PPP) in USD 2011 (World Bank, September 2017). The equation uses natural logarithm GDP per capita, since this form fits the data much better than GDP per capita (pdf, ranking on pp. 57–59).

2.Healthy life expectancy (healthy life expectancy) (World Organization Health, 2012, Human Development Indicators, 2017). Life expectancy in given year* (Healthy life expectancy in 2012 / Life expectancy in 2012) (pdf, ranking on pp. 63–65).

3. Social support (social support) is the average national response to the Gallup World Poll (GWP) question (o or 1) “If you had a problem, could you rely on family or friends to help you if needed?” (If you were in trouble, do you have relatives or friends you can count on to help you whenever you need them, or not?) (pdf, rating on pp. 60–62).

4. Freedom of life choice(freedom to make life choices). Average national response to the Gallup World Poll (GWP) question (0 or 1): "Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the freedom to choose what you do with your life?" (Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your freedom to choose what you do with your life?) (pdf, rating on pp. 66–68).

5. Generosity (generosity): "Did you donate money to charity last month?" (Generosity is the residual of regressing national average of response to the GWP question “Have you donated money to a charity in the past month?" on GDP per capita.) (pdf, rating on pp. 69–71).

6. Perceptions of corruption (perceptions of corruption) is the average national response to the Gallup World Poll (GWP) question (o or 1): "Is government corruption widespread or not?" (“Is corruption widespread throughout the government or not?”) and “Is corruption widespread in business or not?” (“Is corruption widespread within businesses or not?”). Where there is no data on government corruption, perceptions of corruption in business are used as a general measure of corruption perceptions. (pdf, rating on pp. 72–74).

In addition, the result was influenced by the subjective feeling of happiness or unhappiness. For example, answers to questions about the past day were taken into account: did you laugh? Was there a feeling of happiness? experienced anxiety? anger? Each country is also compared to a hypothetical country called "Dystopia". Dystopia presents the lowest national averages for each key variable.

The following text was used in preparing TheWorldOnly publication:
Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2018). World Happiness Report 2018, New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Read about Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

In fact, the happiness index is most directly related to the topic of the site, since it reflects the level of satisfaction of the population with their lives, which, in turn, is very closely related to their financial condition.

What is the happiness index?

Usually used and continue to use, let's say, more economic indicators standard of living of the population, for example, GDP per capita or something similar. But the scientists of the British center scientific research The New Economic Foundation came to the conclusion that this cannot be considered correct, since the size of the GDP that accounts for it does not give much to a person, people have different criteria for satisfaction own life. So in 2006, NEF scientists developed a new indicator that would more accurately show the level of well-being of the population in the country, it received the sonorous name of the World Happiness Index (or in the original The Happy Planet Index).

World (International) Happiness Index is a combined indicator that reflects the ability of countries, individual districts, regions, cities and other territorial entities to provide their residents with happy life. This indicator is calculated, starting from 2006, once every 2-3 years; for its calculation, statistical data of the largest national and international institutions and organizations.

The exact methodology for calculating the happiness index is not specified anywhere (perhaps it is kept secret), but it is known that 3 main criteria are taken into account:

Satisfaction of people with life;
Average life expectancy;
Ecological situation in the region.

It is these 3 points, according to the developers of the happiness index, that have a paramount impact on how happy a person feels. Please note that no economic indicators of the country are used in the calculation of the happiness index. That is, no matter how strong and dynamically developing it is, it does not directly affect the happiness index.

Thus, we can say that the happiness index shows how competently a country uses its economic potential and Natural resources to create good living conditions for the population. And if it's quite simple - how much the state cares about its citizens, how satisfied the citizens are with it.

Now let's see which countries feel the most and least happy, and which places in international ranking happiness goes to our countries.

Ranking of countries on the index of happiness.

So, according to the latest data, the country with the highest happiness index was Denmark, which was also noted as the country with the lowest level of social inequality. In addition to her, the TOP-5 leaders included Switzerland (previously ranked 1st), Iceland, Norway and Finland. That is, we can state that the happiest people live in European countries.

The most unfortunate this time are Burundi (the last, 156th place in the ranking), Syria, Togo, Afghanistan, Benin.

Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Ecuador, Moldova, Latvia, China, Slovakia, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Russia can be attributed to the countries with the most positive dynamics of the happiness index for the period under study. And to the countries with the most negative dynamics - Venezuela, Botswana, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece.

If taken in a regional context, then in the best way feel the countries of the European continent, North and Latin America, as well as the countries of the Caribbean.

Russia this time took the 56th position in the rating, having significantly improved its index. Interestingly, earlier the country was even below the 100 mark, and in last years The happiness index in Russia has increased significantly, despite the real drop in living standards and . Paradoxically, but true.

Kazakhstan is located a little higher - at 54 positions, Moldova too - at 55. This time Uzbekistan became the happiest country in the CIS - it occupies 49th place in the ranking. Belarus is at 61 positions, Turkmenistan - at 65, Kyrgyzstan - at 85.

And Ukraine lags behind the leaders in the CIS by more than 2 times and is in 123rd place in the ranking of countries in terms of the happiness index, showed a negative trend. The positions of Georgia turned out to be worse (126th place), Armenia is not far away (121st place). Nearby in the ranking are African countries with low level development.

In conclusion, I want to note that every year the international index of happiness is given by all greater value is getting more and more attention. For many countries, the happiness index has already become key indicator standard of living of the population, taken as a basis, and the number of such countries is growing every year.

Now you know what the World Happiness Index is. It remains only to wish all of you to feel happy and make your modest contribution to the calculation of the happiness index of your state, raising it in the world rankings.

See you soon! See you on the site!

Image copyright getty Image caption The Danes were the happiest people in the world

According to a UN study, Denmark is the happiest country in the world.

This is the fourth study of the level of happiness and satisfaction with life in different countries peace.

One of his main findings from the current World Happiness Report is that countries with less social inequality tend to be happier.

The top five, besides Denmark, includes Switzerland. Iceland, Norway and Finland. All these countries have a well-developed social security system.

The United States in this list is in 13th place, Great Britain is in 23rd place, China is in 83rd place, Ukraine is in 123rd place.

Closes the list of 156 countries Burundi, where mass unrest continues, periodically. It was ranked even lower than Syria, where more than 250,000 people have died in a civil war over the past five years.

Image copyright getty Image caption Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world and suffers from civil wars, AIDS, corruption and very limited access to education

The study found that Syrians have a longer healthy life expectancy and are more generous than those in Burundi, as well as those in Togo, Afghanistan and Benin, bottom of the list.

By and large, the happiest regions are North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa were the only regions where the well-being rating was below five out of ten possible.

Inequality of happiness

The report produced by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) is an analysis of surveys of thousands of people in each country, which is conducted annually by Gallup. Respondents were asked to rate their lives on a ten-point scale.

Researchers have identified six main categories that determine the level of well-being: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, personal freedoms, participation in charity, and perceptions of the level of corruption.

Image copyright RIA Novosti Image caption Russia is in the 56th place in the list of 156 countries. Despite the economic crisis, in a year it has risen in the ranking by eight places.

The study showed that people, in general, live happier in a society where there is less inequality in the distribution of happiness.

The greater the gap in happiness between different groups population, the less happy society as a whole.

The authors of the study also took into account the level of social support, which was defined as the ability to rely on someone in difficult times. Another important factor is the level of corruption in society, as it appears to the survey participants.

"Human well-being should be developed through a holistic approach that combines economic, social and environmental goals," Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University's Earth Institute, said in a press release from SDSN.

"Instead of narrowly focusing on economic growth, we should encourage the prosperous, equitable and environmentally sustainable," the scientist argues.

The top ten happiest countries in the world have not changed, although some of them have changed places. In particular, Switzerland lost the first line to Denmark.

20 happiest countries:

1. Denmark 2. Switzerland 3. Iceland 4. Norway 5. Finland 6. Canada 7. Netherlands 8. New Zealand 9. Australia 10. Sweden 11. Israel 12. Austria 13. USA 14. Costa Rica 15. Puerto Rico 16. Germany 17. Brazil 18. Belgium 19. Ireland 20. Luxembourg

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), commissioned by the UN, conducted a study, which resulted in a ranking of the happiest countries. The publication of the report was timed to international day happiness, which is celebrated on March 20.

The top six countries whose citizens are considered the happiest in the world are Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, and the Netherlands.

Interestingly, the happiest country of last year in the new ranking did not get to the first line. There are a number of fairly prosperous countries that have lost their positions, for example, the United States. The author of the report, Jeffrey Sachs, linked the country's movement in the ranking from 13th to 14th place with new policy held by the 45th american president Donald Trump.

“Trump’s economic measures are aimed at increasing inequality – tax cuts for the highest category income, denial of funding for health care, cuts to the program to deliver free meals to the infirm and poor in order to increase military spending. I think these are all steps in the wrong direction,” Sacks said.

Russia's performance this year, on the contrary, has improved: it has risen in the ranking from 56th to 49th place, overtaking Japan and a few points short of Italy's 48th place.

The authors of the study examined the lives of people in 155 countries. When compiling the list, six main criteria were taken into account. Economists took data on two of them from the country's publicly available statistics: GDP per capita and life expectancy. Three more criteria were taken from the data public polls: social support of the population in difficult situations, freedom of choice and trust in government. The last aspect taken into account in the ranking was generosity - but here the researchers had to take the word of the respondents. Each of them was asked the question, what is the amount of donations to charity, made recently.

Controversial parameters

The parameters on which the study is based are rather controversial, and therefore the results should be treated critically, says Andrey Gribanov, representative of the Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Research.

“The parameters by which they determined human happiness are rather strange. I have no questions about the parameter about generosity in charity. This is understandable to the average person. But the rest of the points are not easy to correlate with the abstract concept of “happiness,” the expert said.

It is difficult to directly link GDP per capita with happiness: after all, you can be economically secure, but at the same time, for example, not have health, Gribanov notes.

Reuters

“Life expectancy is also a controversial parameter. After all, statistics are a pretty tricky thing. Someone in the immediate environment people die early enough, and someone in the family has long-livers. In Japan, for example, one of the most long durations life, but also a lot of stories about how lonely old people commit suicide,” Andrey Gribanov explained, adding that everyone has their own understanding of freedom of choice.

The happiness of the patient in the VIP-ward

“The countries with a very high rate of depression and suicide top the list. How can the inhabitants of these countries be happy? Holland is generally the number one country in this sense. These are countries where the climate is quite rainy, not so much sunny days(Unlike southern countries) a plus a certain level stability and monotonous employment of a person, that is, search activity is not particularly required there.

The expert compared such happiness with the external well-being of a patient who is in a hospital in comfortable conditions, but at the same time does not cease to be sick.

“One can, for example, wonder if a person who lies in a hospital in a VIP room is happy. He has it there too good conditions: he is alone in the room, there is air conditioning. But is he happy alone with his diagnosis? he urged to think.

The psychologist also believes that, given all these parameters, the researchers "did not look into the soul", but only measured external factors. But after all, very often the feeling of happiness is subjective and everyone evaluates it in their own way.

“All research criteria come from external factor, implying that if all six components are present, a person should be happy. But here there is not a single subjective criterion, there is no position that would come from the people. That is, it is assumed that they should be happy, because they are given such conditions, ”the expert said.

The Elusive Prosperity of the United States

Senior Fellow at the US and Canada Institute, economist Vladimir Batyuk, commented on the decline in the "happiness rating" in the United States compared to last year. According to him, a one-position downgrade is a minor deterioration that should not be given great attention. And the comments of the author of the report, Jeffrey Sachs, that happy people in the United States has become less due to the policies of the new President Donald Trump, and have no basis at all.

“Trump took office just two months ago, and it is too early to make any statements about the impact of his policies on the life of the population. It seems that the author of the report is initially an ill-wisher of Trump, ”the expert suggested.

In addition, according to him, on the basis of this report, it is hardly possible to judge the real well-being of the countries included in the rating.