Happiest countries 2024

[Lilith7]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/20/happiest...-2024.html

Top 10 happiest countries in the world

1. Finland
   
2. Denmark
   
3. Iceland
   
4. Sweden
   
5. Israel
   
6. Netherlands
   
7. Norway
   
8. Luxembourg
   
9. Switzerland
   
10. Australia
    

For the seventh year in a row, Finland has landed the top spot on the World Happiness Report’s annual ranking of the happiest countries in the world.
Countries are ranked according to self-assessed life evaluations and answers to the Cantril ladder question which asks respondents to think of a ladder with the best possible life for them being a 10 and the worst being a 0 and then rate their current lives on that scale.
No. 1 happiest country in the world: Finland
Finland took the No. 1 spot on the list with a score of 7.741. According to Frank Martela, a Finnish philosopher and psychology researcher, Finnish people are happy because they have a strong sense of community and relatedness, do good deeds for other people, and find a clear purpose for themselves.


Finland outperforms the average country in education, work-life balance, environment quality, social connections, safety and life satisfaction, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Better Life Index.
Life expectancy at birth in Finland is around 82 years, 85 for women and 79 for men.

The Finnish people’s strong sense of community is further proven by the OECD Better Life Index, which states that 96% of people believe they know someone they can rely on in their time of need."

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/worlds-ha...index.html

"The survey asks each participant to score their life as a whole, considering what they value, said John Helliwell, emeritus professor of economics at the Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, and a founding editor of the World Happiness Report.
“And you find out Finland’s pretty rich in all of those things, like wallets being returned if they’re dropped in the street, people helping each other day in and day out, very high quality and universally distributed health and education opportunities — so everyone more or less comes out of the starting gate the same,” he said.
He also noted that Finland has happy immigrants, “so it’s something that they’re prepared to share with newcomers.”
The report looks at six key variables to help explain life evaluations: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption."

[Oh_hunnihunni]

It is surprising how many governments appear to take happiness and well being seriously, yet do not appear on this list. Maybe they need to try harder.

Interesting too, how the list has changed since last year... https://worldhappiness.report/news/happi...ng-crises/

Now, I wonder why that last country has fallen off the list in favour of Oz?

[harm_less]

It is surprising how many governments appear to take happiness and well being seriously, yet do not appear on this list. Maybe they need to try harder.

Interesting too, how the list has changed since last year... https://worldhappiness.report/news/happi...ng-crises/

Now, I wonder why that last country has fallen off the list in favour of Oz?

Disturbing too that Israel are rated so highly. They're quite content bombing the snot out of their neighbours apparently.

[Lilith7]

You'd think that other countries might take a leaf out of the book of those Nordic countries like Finland which consistently feature at the top of the happiest people lists, & as far as possible, do what they're doing.
That would seem the sensible option - possibly why it hasn't happened as yet...

[Oh_hunnihunni]

It does have to be easier with a small population though. The grumpies must be far more identifiable.

[Lilith7]

It does have to be easier with a small population though. The grumpies must be far more identifiable.

I think most of us will have heard of David Seymour & a few others of the same ilk...

[dken31]

You'd think that other countries might take a leaf out of the book of those Nordic countries like Finland which consistently feature at the top of the happiest people lists, & as far as possible, do what they're doing.
That would seem the sensible option - possibly why it hasn't happened as yet...

By "do what they're doing", are you referring to ethnic homogeneity (which is widely proven to be a key factor in social cohesion, political engagement, volunteering of time for community causes etc.) or are you referring to being willing to make the most of available natural resources through mining/extraction which contributes significantly to a more affluent society?

Or, are you overlooking those two factors and focusing solely on high taxes?  Because the reason that high taxes are palatable in Scandinavian countries is that income is high and people feel a strong connection to their fellow citizens which makes them far more willing to contribute towards the "common good".  The same cannot be said of NZ which means that raising taxes isn't going to create a happier society.

[zqwerty]

If the rich got taxed more highly in NZ then I think the poorer members of society would be happier if the results of higher taxation of the rich trickle down to the poor from the National Government, but that's not likely is it.?

The problem is super profits that individuals and banks, corporations are routinely taking from the economy.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

It always amazes me that some people fail to understand the very simple principle that says the only way to acquire great wealth is to take it from others. Be that money, property, or resources. These things have limits, there is no such thing as endless growth, everything comes to an end, everything runs out.

And being rich does not stop that happening, with life, just like everything else.

[Lilith7]

You'd think that other countries might take a leaf out of the book of those Nordic countries like Finland which consistently feature at the top of the happiest people lists, & as far as possible, do what they're doing.
That would seem the sensible option - possibly why it hasn't happened as yet...

By "do what they're doing", are you referring to ethnic homogeneity (which is widely proven to be a key factor in social cohesion, political engagement, volunteering of time for community causes etc.) or are you referring to being willing to make the most of available natural resources through mining/extraction which contributes significantly to a more affluent society?

Or, are you overlooking those two factors and focusing solely on high taxes?  Because the reason that high taxes are palatable in Scandinavian countries is that income is high and people feel a strong connection to their fellow citizens which makes them far more willing to contribute towards the "common good".  The same cannot be said of NZ which means that raising taxes isn't going to create a happier society.

As no doubt you know very well, I was referring to the fact that those Nordic countries featuring at or near, the top of the 'happiest people' lists year after year are also the countries which have high taxes, which are used to cover such things as health,education etc. etc.

What I said is that as far as possible, every country should be doing likewise.

Those people who live in Nordic countries also appear to have more empathy than is found in some countries; that would also be a factor. And as empathy can be & is being,taught, then it makes sense to also teach it everywhere.

And you may want to look up the Sami people.