This is for the Americans here...I hope all of you had a fun, and safe, 4th of July.
In honor of the 4th of July, Steve Chapman wrote this article, talking about the pursuit of happiness. He says:
quote:
The right to life and the right to liberty, on the other hand, are common assumptions around the world. But only America was founded on a right that, even today, sounds eccentric: the right to the pursuit of happiness.
He also quoted a statistic that I wondered about:
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Only four countries (Austria, Belgium, Britain and Germany) have gotten less happy since the pre-1981 era. They are all free as well as rich, which suggests those two factors are necessary but not sufficient for people to count their blessings.
I wonder why our colleagues across the pond see the glass as half-full.
According to World Value Surveys (2005) Belgium has the 11th most happy citizens, Britain (or the UK, to be precise) the 9th and the USA the 13th. Germany's statistics are not quoted. If these countries have become less happy since 1981 they must have been almost ecstatic back then!
I haven't yet been able to trace the historical figures and it would be interesting to learn where Steve Chapman obtained his data.
Richard English
Posts: 6117 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UK
Not sure, Richard. However, he has a good reputation as being a fair and competent journalist, so I have faith in his findings. Remember, these sorts of surveys are very soft. When I get a moment, I will write him and find out.
I googled for "World Value Surveys" and found their website and the following table. They were not numbered, so I added those. I couldn't find any date, but I assumed these were the latest data available. And you know what they say about assume.
1. Puerto Rico 4.67 2. Mexico 4.32 3. Denmark 4.24 4. Ireland 4.16 5. Iceland 4.15 6. Switzerland 4.00 7. N. Ireland 3.97 8. Colombia 3.94 9. Netherlands 3.86 10. Canada 3.76 11. Austria 3.69 12. El Salvador 3.67 13. Venezuela 3.58 14. Luxembourg 3.52 15. U.S. 3.47 16. Australia 3.46 17. New Zealand 3.39 18. Sweden 3.36 19. Nigeria 3.32 20. Norway 3.25 21. Belgium 3.23 22. Finland 3.23 23. Saudi Arabia 3.01 24. Singapore 3.00 25. Britain 2.92 26. W. Germany 2.67 27. France 2.61 28. Argentina 2.61 29. Vietnam 2.59 30. Chile 2.53 31. Philippines 2.32 32. Taiwan 2.25 33. Domin.Rep. 2.25 34. Brazil 2.23 35. Spain 2.13 36. Israel 2.08 37. Italy 2.06 38. E. Germany 2.02 39. Slovenia 2.02 40. Uruguay 2.02 41. Portugal 1.99 42. Japan 1.96 43. Czech Rep 1.94 44. S. Africa 1.86 45. Croatia 1.55 46. Greece 1.45 47. Peru 1.32 48. China 1.20 49. S. Korea 1.12 50. Iran 0.93 51. Poland 0.84 52. Turkey 0.84 53. Bosnia 0.82 54. Morocco 0.74 55. Uganda 0.67 56. Algeria 0.57 57. Bangladesh 0.54 58. Egypt 0.52 59. Hungary 0.41 60. Slovakia 0.40 61. Jordan 0.39 62. Estonia 0.24 63. Serbia 0.21 64. Tanzania 0.13 65. Azerbaijan 0.13 66. Montenegro 0.06 67. India 0.03 68. Lithuania -0.07 69. Macedonia -0.14 70. Pakistan -0.30 71. Latvia -0.70 72. Albania -0.86 73. Bulgaria -0.87 74. Belarus -0.92 75. Georgia -1.11 76. Romania -1.30 77. Moldova -1.63 78. Russia -1.75 79. Armenia -1.80 80. Ukraine -1.81 81. Zimbabwe -1.88 82. Indonesia -2.40
I don't know how they determine their scores. It probably says somewhere on their site. Wikipedia has an article about World Values Survey.
I recently saw a PBS special which ranked Denmark #1 in happiness. Here's a BBC article about it.
quote:
Last Updated: Friday, 28 July 2006, 14:23 GMT 15:23 UK Denmark 'happiest place on earth'
Adrian White, from the UK's University of Leicester, used the responses of 80,000 people worldwide to map out subjective wellbeing.
Denmark came top, followed closely by Switzerland and Austria. The UK ranked 41st. Zimbabwe and Burundi came bottom.
HOW THE NATIONS RANKED ON HAPPINESS 1st - Denmark 2nd - Switzerland 3rd - Austria 4th - Iceland 5th - The Bahamas 23rd - USA 41st - UK 90th - Japan 178th
Edited May 30, 2008 The happiest people in the world
Happy Danes? The world-leading position puzzles not only Danes themselves, but also many foreign media. Isn’t Denmark a tiny pancake of earth north of the wine-growing horizons, where summers are sunless and winters are windswept? Where taxes are sky-high and the society is ruled by a folk-law that says: “Don’t think you are anything special – you are no better than the rest of us.” Where everything is so regulated and disciplined that even in the dead of night in a deserted street, pedestrians conscientiously wait for the green light before they cross.
... there is a long way down to the USA, which only managed 23rd.
... when people are asked whether they are happy, it is citizens in countries with a good healthcare system, a high GDP per capita and with good access to education who are the happiest.
... personal wealth in itself is not essential for feeling happy and satisfied with your existence. Instead it is social wealth, well-functioning social conditions, including a good healthcare system and good access to education, which brings contentment.
Denmark fulfils exactly those criteria, and everything suggests that it counterbalances low taxes, ceaseless sun and the idle life of millionaires.
Glad to pay tax Denmark is the world’s 7th richest country with a GDP of approx. USD 45,000 per capita. But the country is also known for its relatively high taxes, and the rest of the world is puzzled as to how high taxes make people happy. But if you ask Danes themselves, the vast majority say that they pay their taxes gladly.
Because In Denmark, taxes finance the free educational system. There are 10 years of compulsory school attendance, and thereafter education is also free at high schools and other centres of further education. All young people in education have the right to state financial help during their training. In addition, the Danish labour market system comprises a number of agreements that ensure lifelong further training. The state spends approx. 9% of GDP on education.
Because The Danish healthcare system is free. All Danes are assigned a GP, who is paid via taxes. Hospitals are free, and there is free access to all specialist physicians. There are large subsidies applied to for example pharmaceuticals and facilities for disabled people. The state spends approx. 20% of GDP on the healthcare system.
Because All Danes receive a basic state pension from the age of 65. Denmark also spends more money on children and the elderly than any other country. The state uses approx. 20% of GDP on social welfare.
Well, I'm ready to move to Denmark!
Interestingly enough, five years ago Nigeria was the "happiest place."
quote:
Last Updated: Thursday, 2 October, 2003, 11:08 GMT 12:08 UK Nigeria tops happiness survey
Nigeria has the highest percentage of happy people followed by Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico, while Russia, Armenia and Romania have the fewest.
The survey appears to confirm the old adage that money cannot buy happiness.
PATH TO HAPPINESS Genetic propensity to happiness Marriage Make friends and value them Desire less Do someone a good turn Have faith (religious or not) Stop comparing your looks with others Earn more money Grow old gracefully Don't worry if you're not a genius
Wow, thanks, Tinman, for all of that. I am not sure where he got the pre-1981 era comparisons, but I will ask him. As for the Danish's healthcare system being free, I will never forget a comment made at an international healthcare conference. The American physicians were moaning an groaning about our malpractice lawsuits, and the Danes seemed truly confused. Their malpractice suit rate, they said, was about 5 lawsuits per year. Of course they are a much smaller country than we are...but still! That brought quiet, and envy, to the entire room.
Indeed, wow, tinman. Thanks for looking that up and posting some of the figures. I was looking at some of their analyses of the data, and found these graphs (link) interesting.
The UK's healthcare system is also largely free but our malpractice suit level, according to this article http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/24/4/903 not that far short of the USA's and significantly higher than Canada's.
It would be useful to get some better statistics - which must be available - so we could assess what correlation, if any, there is.
Richard English
Posts: 6117 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UK
