I see the UN World Happiness Report 2021 has just been released. It is based on survey data from around the world, asking people to rank how satisfied they are with their lives on a 0-10 scale, and averaging those results per country.
This study has been conducted for a number of years now, and the results typically don't change much year-on-year. Finland has been the happiest country in the world 4 years running.
The top-10 happiest nations in the 2021 report are:
1. Finland (7.842)
2. Denmark (7.620)
3. Switzerland (7.571)
4. Iceland (7.554)
5. Netherlands (7.464)
6. Norway (7.392)
7. Sweden (7.363)
8. Luxembourg (7.324)
9. New Zealand (7.277)
10. Austria (7.268)
It's interesting to me what type of countries are on that list. They're all developed countries, all Western countries, and all liberal / left-wing countries.
Among Western nations, this isn't a list of the richest countries - although some of them are extremely wealthy, many of them are more towards the middle of the OECD in terms of wealth.
What it is, however, is a list of countries famous for their left-wing and liberal policies.
All 5 of the Scandinavian countries, so beloved of Bernie Sanders, for their cradle-to-grave welfare policies and their strong trade unions, are in the top 10 happiest countries. As are a bunch of other countries known for being liberal and left-wing.
If we compare that list to the 2020 Social Progress Index, which essentially measures how liberal/left a country is, we find that all 10 of those 'happiest nations' listed above score within the top-15 countries in the world on the Social Progress Index.
Although Finland also drinks the most coffee per person in the world, so perhaps that has something to do with it...
But what the list of happiest countries isn't is a list of conservative countries. Nor are they religious countries - the countries in this list are among the highest in the world for their rates of atheism and religious non-adherence.
This study has been conducted for a number of years now, and the results typically don't change much year-on-year. Finland has been the happiest country in the world 4 years running.
The top-10 happiest nations in the 2021 report are:
1. Finland (7.842)
2. Denmark (7.620)
3. Switzerland (7.571)
4. Iceland (7.554)
5. Netherlands (7.464)
6. Norway (7.392)
7. Sweden (7.363)
8. Luxembourg (7.324)
9. New Zealand (7.277)
10. Austria (7.268)
It's interesting to me what type of countries are on that list. They're all developed countries, all Western countries, and all liberal / left-wing countries.
Among Western nations, this isn't a list of the richest countries - although some of them are extremely wealthy, many of them are more towards the middle of the OECD in terms of wealth.
What it is, however, is a list of countries famous for their left-wing and liberal policies.
All 5 of the Scandinavian countries, so beloved of Bernie Sanders, for their cradle-to-grave welfare policies and their strong trade unions, are in the top 10 happiest countries. As are a bunch of other countries known for being liberal and left-wing.
If we compare that list to the 2020 Social Progress Index, which essentially measures how liberal/left a country is, we find that all 10 of those 'happiest nations' listed above score within the top-15 countries in the world on the Social Progress Index.
Although Finland also drinks the most coffee per person in the world, so perhaps that has something to do with it...
But what the list of happiest countries isn't is a list of conservative countries. Nor are they religious countries - the countries in this list are among the highest in the world for their rates of atheism and religious non-adherence.
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