Denmark was declared the "happiest country in the world". That news was met with a mixture of pride and skepticism among Danes themselves. I was congratulated by friends and family outside of Denmark for my good fortune to live in such a country. Very few, though, took it seriously. And very few, myself included, understood how "happiness" was being measured. I also found it difficult to comprehend in the midst of all the conflicting news stories about the high consumption of anti-depressants among Danes and the high level of stress.
So I set out to find out what it was all about and discovered that many researchers have taken the study of "happiness" very seriously for some decades. They base their analyses on a wide range of data, for example: the Gallup World Poll, the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey. Well-being is probably a more appropriate term than happiness - but the latter certainly attracts more attention.
Although the research and evidence has been building up for many years, the notion of "happiest countries in the world" was an outcome of a resolution of the UN General Assembly. On 19 July 2011 the General Assembly called on United Nations Member States to undertake steps that give more importance to happiness and well-being in determining how to achieve and measure social and economic development. In a resolution adopted without a vote, the Assembly invited countries “to pursue the elaboration of additional measures that better capture the importance of the pursuit of happiness and well-being in development with a view to guiding their public policies.” The resolution said “the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal” and embodies the spirit of the globally agreed targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The resolution notes that the GDP indicator “was not designed to and does not adequately reflect the happiness and well-being of people in a country,” and “unsustainable patterns of production and consumption can impede sustainable development.” UN News Center
Although the research and evidence has been building up for many years, the notion of "happiest countries in the world" was an outcome of a resolution of the UN General Assembly. On 19 July 2011 the General Assembly called on United Nations Member States to undertake steps that give more importance to happiness and well-being in determining how to achieve and measure social and economic development. In a resolution adopted without a vote, the Assembly invited countries “to pursue the elaboration of additional measures that better capture the importance of the pursuit of happiness and well-being in development with a view to guiding their public policies.” The resolution said “the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal” and embodies the spirit of the globally agreed targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The resolution notes that the GDP indicator “was not designed to and does not adequately reflect the happiness and well-being of people in a country,” and “unsustainable patterns of production and consumption can impede sustainable development.” UN News Center
- that public policies should be guided, among other things, by the evidence collected through research on well-being and happiness;
- that the MDGs and "pursuit of happiness" are integrally linked; and
- that Bhutan's Gross Domestic Happiness is a better indicator of real well-being than Gross Domestic Product!
So what does this resolution actually say?
Money can't buy you love, can't buy you love ….
Since the resolution was passed in 2011, Denmark was claimed number one in 2012 and 2013 - 2014 report to be published soon. The other top scorers were northern European countries. Since I am not a statistician, epidemiologist, social scientist or in any way work with or even understand statistical research, I don't have the skills to examine the data myself. I am confident, though, that the authors of the reports do. One of the men behind the reports is Jeffrey Sachs - hope you have already heard of him. He is an economist who is completely committed to making the world a happier place for everyone - in the true meaning of the word. For him, sustainable development is based on four pillars: ending extreme poverty; ensuring environmental sustainability; promoting social inclusion; and implementing good governance.
The authors claim that there are basically four key external factors that determine happiness: (1) income, (2) work, (3) community and governance, and (4) values and relations. Internal factors are: mental and physical health, family experience, education, gender and age.
Income and employment are factors we take for granted. Of course you need enough money to survive and work provides an income - along with other key factors like social recognition and relations. We tend to think less about trust beyond our own small circle:
"A successful society is one in which people have a high level of trust in each other - including family members, colleagues, friends strangers, and institutions such as government. Social trust spurs a sense of life satisfaction." World Happiness Report, 2012
What is actually being measured? Quality of life that can guide public policies …
In surveys, people are asked questions such as:
- How happy are you now? - current emotion report
- How happy were you yesterday? - remembered emotion,
- How happy are you with your life as a whole these days? - life evaluation.
The Gallup World Poll is based on annual samples of 1000 respondents aged 15 or over in each of more than 150 countries. The responses are used to evaluate the quality of life on an 11-point ladder scale. (p11….)
