Which country’s inhabitants enjoy the longest and happiest lives?

The purpose of these rankings is to determine which countries are enjoying the long and happy lives which so many of us are striving for.

Unlike other similar studies, these rankings are not based on any economic or environmental data. The only sets of data used in the calculations are a country’s ranking in terms of life expectancy and the life satisfaction rankings, which are based on international surveys. The results of which are available from The New Economics Foundation. These two sets of data are given equal weighting in calculation of the rankings.

In light of data regarding suicide rates from the World Health Organisation there are some notable surprises in the top 10. It is somewhat surprising that Switzerland top the rankings despite having a suicide rate which is almost double the worldwide average. Other high-ranking countries with even higher suicide rates include Luxembourg and Finland.

Read more in Sociology
« Are All Countries Exactly the Same?Learning in social environment »Ideally, suicide rates would have been a factor in calculation of the rankings. However, there are a significant number of countries for which this data is unavailable.

Although Japan and Hong Kong have the two highest life expectancies in the world their low rankings are a reflection of how poorly they fared in the life satisfaction surveys.

Bottom of the pile was Zimbabwe due to their unfortunate combination a life expectancy of just 36.9 and the joint second lowest life satisfaction rating in the world.


Switzerland
Iceland
Sweden
Canada
Austria
Finland
Luxembourg
Norway
New Zealand
Australia
Denmark
Malta
Netherlands
Ireland
Costa Rica
Belgium
United Arab Emirates
Brunei Darussalam
United States of America
Germany
Spain
Italy
Hong Kong
Dominica
United Kingdom
Singapore
Cyprus
Israel
Kuwait
Barbados
Antigua and Barbuda
France
Malaysia
Venezuela
Oman
Panama
Seychelles
Bahrain
Mexico
Japan
Slovenia
Colombia
Taiwan
Chile
Saudi Arabia
Argentina
Bahamas
Qatar
Greece
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Cuba
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Czech Republic
Vanuatu
Belize
Uruguay
Portugal
Suriname
Jamaica
Tonga
Korea
Bhutan
Tunisia
Honduras
Samoa (Western)
Mauritius
Croatia
Trinidad and Tobago
Sri Lanka
El Salvador
Poland
Guatemala
Dominican Republic
Paraguay
China
Guyana
Ecuador
Libya
Fiji
Thailand
Philippines
Brazil
Hungary
Kyrgyzstan
Indonesia
Maldives
Slovakia
Mongolia
Solomon Islands
Vietnam
Nicaragua
São Tomé and Principe
Lebanon
Iran
Grenada
Palestine
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Uzbekistan
Cape Verde
Syria
Macedonia
Timor-Leste
Peru
Morocco
Tajikistan
Romania
Albania
Algeria
Jordan
Estonia
Comoros
Yemen
Lithuania
Papua New Guinea
Ghana
Kazakhstan
Namibia
Latvia
Gabon
Bangladesh
Turkey
Bolivia
Bulgaria
Madagascar
Gambia
India
Cambodia
Egypt
Senegal
Nepal
Armenia
Congo
Azerbaijan
South Africa
Georgia
Burma
Laos
Benin
Kenya
Haiti
Belarus
Tanzania
Mauritania
Russia
Moldova
Nigeria
Guinea-Bissau
Mali
Guinea
Togo
Ukraine
Pakistan
Mozambique
Djibouti
Cameroon
Botswana
Turkmenistan
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Burkina Faso
Eritrea
Sudan
Uganda
Sierra Leone
Central African Republic
Zambia
Cote d’Ivoire
Angola
Niger
Chad
Rwanda
Malawi
Lesotho
Burundi
Congo, Dem. Rep. of the
Swaziland
Zimbabwe


http://socyberty.com/sociology/world-happiness-rankings/

OK

well now......OK

I'm happy

Well, now knowing all of that...I can go to bed happy.

Of course the top three is where pot is legal....

Bet it would be different if "my" study group did it!