Happiness and Well-being

Happiness and Well-being Global Goal 3

How do you define happiness?

Is it love?

How about puppies?

Could it be accomplishment?

Happiness and well-being are tightly linked. The happier a person, the better their well-being, and vice versa.

Can happiness be measured, like scientifically?

The World Happiness Report aims to do just that.

Breakdown of global happiness. The darker the color, the happier the country.

The World Happiness data shows that the Nordic countries Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland lead the world in happiness. Why is this?

Top 5 Happiest Countries

While GDP per capita (income per person) is figured into the happiness score, it's not true that the happiest countries have the highest GDP per capita. The only Nordic country in the top 10 is Norway.

Life expectancy is another measure considered in calculating happiness scores. The Nordic countries are leaders in life expectancy, which seems to indicate that people who are happier, live longer lives.

What is going on with the countries at the bottom of the happiness list?

Top 5 Least Happy Countries

Four of the five of these countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, an area of the world with many people living in extreme poverty and facing water and food shortages which can lead to an increase in infectious disease.

South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Afghanistan are all facing civil wars, which leads to government instability, decrease in personal safety, and supply shortages.

Life expectancy is lower than average among the least happy countries, due in part to ongoing violence.

Experts have found that the drop in happiness in war-torn areas is comparable to the loss of happiness a financially secure person would experience if he or she were to become a poor person.

The reality is, most countries (like most people) fall somewhere in the middle.

Overall distribution of happiness scores showing that the majority of countries rank between 4.5 and 6.3.

Thailand falls directly in the middle of the Happiness Score Index at 6.01.

Thailand has a population of 64 million people. The Nordic countries combined have a population of 27 million. Larger populations can lead to disconnected communities. That can have an impact on happiness scores.

Thailand's GDP per capita is $18,000, which is well below the GDP per capita of its neighbors like Singapore. Thailand is the only country in the region where more than half of the population has only achieved a primary school education, which negatively impacts income earning potential.

Thailand's average life expectancy is around 75 years, which is 4 years more than the worldwide average.

Strong family bonds, beautiful landscapes, and overall cultural kindness offset many of the risk factors that impact happiness in Thailand.

What effect, if any, do happiness scores have on human migration patterns? Are people flocking to happy countries? Are they able to flee from conflict areas?

Click here to explore the data story about human migration, and see if you can uncover any interesting patterns in relation to what you've learned about happiness!

The Happiness Report data serves to illustrate with data what we all intrinsically know. The healthier and more secure you are, and the more supported you feel, the higher your chances of achieving happiness.

What's Next?

Learn more about Global Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being.

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by jill111 - "little girl running daisies nature" • sathyatripodi - "brothers boys kids" • Bharathi Kannan - "untitled image" • Jeffrey F Lin - "untitled image" • aamiraimer - "kid child portrait" • WenPhotos - "orphan africa african" • Jonny_Joka - "thailand wat huay pla kung chiang rai" • Hanny Naibaho - "untitled image" • Geoff Greenwood - "untitled image" • Amy Elting - "untitled image" • Mariamichelle - "thailand phuket koh phi phi" • Devaiah Mallangada Kalaiah - "untitled image"