How happy are you? How about the people in your country? It can be hard to measure happiness. After all, people define happiness differently. Some people think being happy means having a lot of wealth. Others may think health is more important. It is important to note that happiness does not equate to fun. Happiness has to do with sources that provide long-term happiness. Fun has more to do with playing the latest games or watching a movie with friends.
The World Happiness Report aims to measure happiness in different countries. It uses a survey and asks respondents for their answers to a variety of questions. In 2021, the survey reached over 9 million people in over 150 countries.
It was found that there is a correlation between the World Happiness Report's findings and quality of life factors. These quality of life metrics include safety, wealth, the environment, education, and security, just to name a few. The report also looks at the GDP per capita and the life expectancy of the country's population.
However, it is important to note that the variables mentioned are demonstrating correlation, which does not necessarily equal causation. What does that mean? Let's look at an example.
A scientist found that there is a correlation between an increase in ice cream sales and shark attacks. Does that mean selling more ice cream directly causes sharks to attack more?
No, that relationship is not correct. It is more likely that when the weather is warmer, people will buy ice cream and get in the ocean for a swim. So even though these two variables are correlated, one is not causing the other..
Now that we know how the World Happiness Report measures happiness, which country do you think ranked the highest? Nordic countries consistently rank high on levels of happiness. So it's not a surprise that in 2021, Finland firmly cemented its place on the leaderboard as the happiest country in the world. Some North American countries also made the rankings, with Canada coming in at 15th and the United States at the 16th happiest country.
Don't worry if you're not from Finland. The report found that there was still an increase in universal happiness. The world reported being marginally happier in 2021 than in previous years. So, overall people are happier than before.
Gross Domestic Happiness or GDH also measures happiness. It involves an index that is used to measure the happiness of the population. The GDH contains nine domains of happiness, including health, psychological well-being, living standards, time use, education, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, and ecological diversity and resilience. Surveys and objective metrics are used to measure each of the domains.
It can be hard to conceptualize happiness. Depending on what measures surveys and studies use, the results could be very different. Because of this, some critics claim that due to inconsistent results, the findings may not be accurate. Others believe that these findings reflect national happiness levels. This means there needs to be a different method to measure personal happiness. With all these opinions and criticisms, why are we still trying to measure happiness? What implications do these reports have?
Levels of happiness can guide the creation of policies. Happiness can tell us if certain rules in a country are working well for its people. It can let us know if something isn't going well and needs to be changed. If people are unhappy in the country, it can prevent economic growth.
A country with happier people can lead to better health and a longer life expectancy as well. Some studies have found that happier countries yield better work performance. It could also lead to better social ties and support groups. There are many benefits to a country if its people are happy and content.
Which country do you think will rank the happiest next year.