Are You Happy? New Survey Says You Are

A new survey finds happiness is on the rise around the world.  The results of the survey, go back an average of 17 years in 52 countries, involving 350,000 people. 

For the survey, researchers have asked the same two questions over the years: “Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?” And, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”

A Happiness Index created from the answers rose in 40 countries between 1981 and 2007, and it fell in the other 12.  The researchers speculate reasons for the sunny outlooks include societal shifts in recent decades: Low-income countries such as India and China have experienced unprecedented rates of economic growth; dozens of medium-income countries have democratized; and there has been a sharp rise of gender equality and tolerance of ethnic minorities.

Previous research has found that happiness is partly inherited and that money doesn’t buy much of it.  Yet the new survey finds people of rich countries tend to be happier than those of poor countries.  And controlling for economic factors, certain types of societies are much happier than others.  Denmark is the happiest nation and Zimbabwe is the most glum. The U.S. ranks at number 16 on the list.