London: If you're looking for happiness, go and live in Denmark. It is the happiest country in the world while Burundi in Africa is the most unhappy, according to a report by a British scientist released Friday.
An analytical social psychologist at the University of Leicester in central England, Adrian White, based his study on data from 178 countries and 100 global studies from the likes of the United Nations and World Health Organisation.
"We're looking much more at whether you are satisfied with your life in general meaning your situation and environment," White said.
The main factors that affected happiness were health provision, wealth and education, according to White who said his research had produced the "first world map of happiness."
Following Denmark was Switzerland, Austria, Iceland and the Bahamas. At the bottom came the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Burundi.
The US came in at the 23rd slot, Britain in 41st place, Germany 35th and France 62nd.
Countries involved in conflicts, such as Iraq, were not included.
“We were surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low with China 82nd, Japan 90th and India 125th. These are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being," White said.
He admitted collecting data based on well-being was not an exact science, but said the measures used were very reliable in predicting health and welfare outcomes.
Comments
0 comment