In this piece, we will take a look at the 30 happiest countries in the world. If you want to skip out an introduction to what might make an individual happy or sad, then skip ahead to 10 Happiest Countries in the World.
Happiness is perhaps one of the most widely written topics you're likely to come across. Whether it's philosophy, religion, or psychology, each has its own perspective about what makes a person happy. In scientific terms, happiness is simply a result of neurotransmitters released in the brain, and their lack can lead to mental ailments such as depression.
One question that we're perhaps unlikely to get an answer for is whether money buys happiness. The answer to this question depends on who you ask. For instance, the most successful investor of our age, Warren Buffett has the following to say about happiness:
Well, I can certainly define happiness because that's what I am. I mean I get to do what I like to do every single day of the year. I get to do it with people I like, I don't have to associate with anybody that caused my stomach to churn. And, the only thing in my job I don't like and this only happens about every three or four years, and occasionally I have to fire somebody and I don't like it, it's the only thing. Other than that I tap dance to work, I get down there and I think I'm supposed to lie on my back and paint the ceiling you know or something. I mean that's what I feel. And it doesn't diminish. It's tremendous fun. They say that success is getting what you want, and happiness is wanting what you get.
So, for Mr. Buffett, being happy is doing what you love, and if you can make money while doing it, then all the better. But what if we could use scientific data to see whether people become happier as they get richer? Well, on this front, researchers show that on average, happiness and its relation to income are present when incomes are increasing to touch $75,000. However, when we divide the sample according to whether people are unhappy or happy as they touch $75,000, the unhappy people actually become substantially happier as their income grows from $75,000 to $100,000. This trend is for the unhappiest people within the group, and they do not get significantly happier as their income crosses the six figure mark. However, for those that are already the happiest, their happiness actually continues to rise beyond $100,000. The study limited incomes to $500,000 so it doesn't tell us whether becoming a millionaire will make you much, much, happier. We know what the answer is for us, though.
Fortunately, researchers from Harvard, Barclays, and Germany took a look at the happiness of millionaires. Using Barclays' data, they show that millionaires rated their happiness as 8 out of 10 on average, and categorizing their scores according to wealth brackets reveals interesting insights. It shows that increasing your net worth by tenfold doesn't really yield any significant growth in happiness. According to the data, for people with a net worth ranging between $1 million and $1.9 million, their happiness score was 7.91. Yet, for those whose net worth was higher than $10 million, the score stood at 8.03. To sum it up, a minimum 900% increase in net worth yields a happiness growth of just 1.5%.
The advances in modern science have also enabled doctors and researchers to gain a better understanding of the real determinants of happiness. What this means is that scientifically, happiness, or a lack thereof is related to neurotransmitters in the human brain. The lack of happiness is typically associated with three neurotransmitters, namely dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Science has also allowed doctors to artificially increase the quantity of these chemicals in the brain, to alleviate depression symptoms and improve patient life quality. The market for these drugs, called anti depressants as a category is quite lucrative, with research showing that it was worth $17.7 billion in 2020 and set to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 3.3% between 2021 and 2023. The U.S., due to its large pharmaceutical industry, is expected to be the largest market for anti depressants during this time period, with China and Germany following in second and third places, respectively.
Anti depressants belong to several different categories, each of which deal with either the neurotransmitters we've listed above or with other chemicals that either reduce or increase the neurotransmitter quantity in the brain. And even though they have been on pharmacy shelves for years, the industry continues to produce new products. Two fresh depression medications on the market are Auvelity and Spravato which are made by Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM) and a Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary. These medicines target the most severe depression that one can suffer from (there are many kinds of depressions, such as bipolar and dysthymia) called Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Spravato takes things a step further, as it is designed to help people that are resistant to MDD treatments, a disease that is known as treatment resistant depression. Taking a look at traditional anti-depressants, the usual list of big pharma suspects such as Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), and GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) manufacture the most common kind of anti-depressants called Selective Serotonin Reputake Inhibitors (SSRIs). If you're interested in learning more about depression, you should check out 30 Countries with the Highest Depression Rates.
So, which countries are the happiest in the world? Most websites use the results of a poll conducted by Gallup, World Happiness Report, to answer this question. According to the poll, Nordic countries such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland rank at the top of the list. Finland and Sweden are among the top 20 countries with highest rates of alcoholism. If they are so happy, why do they need to abuse alcohol at such a high rate? That's why we decided to use a different approach in this article. If you believe our approach is more appropriate to identify the happiest countries, please share this article on social media.
30 Happiest Countries in the World
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Our Methodology
To compile our list of the happiest countries in the world, we ranked countries based on their alcoholism, adultery, suicide, and wealth rates. The logic is that happier countries will have stronger marriages, low suicides, and little alcoholism and will be wealthier than other countries. Each country was assigned a score based on its ranking, with countries with high negative traits receiving higher scores. The scores were then averaged (with wealth given a weight of 1.20), and the countries with the lowest scores are the happiest countries in the world. Extremely poor countries, countries with autocratic or dictatorial regimes were excluded from the list.
30 Happiest Countries in the World
30. Republic of Korea
Insider Monkey's Score: 57.05
The Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea is an Asian country that is one of the biggest exporters in the world of products such as semiconductors and cars.
29. Hungary
Insider Monkey's Score: 53.75
Hungary is a landlocked Central European country. It has moderately high levels of alcoholism and suicides, and high levels of human development.
28. Republic of India
Insider Monkey's Score: 52.6
India is one of the largest economies in the world, and a country that made the news recently after landing an un-crewed vehicle on the Moon. It secures a place on our due to high wealth levels; however, wealth distribution is quite unequal.
27. Kingdom of Belgium
Insider Monkey's Score: 52.45
The Kingdom of Belgium is a prosperous European country. It ranks high on both human development and income equality indexes and has an economy of $624 billion in nominal terms.
26. Republic of Estonia
Insider Monkey's Score: 52.25
The Republic of Estonia is a European nation with high human development levels but moderate income equality. It ranks low in the list of countries with the most alcoholism, but high in suicide rates.
25. Kingdom of Norway
Insider Monkey's Score: 50.5
The Kingdom of Norway is another Nordic European country. It has the third highest GDP per capita in the world, which sits at a whopping $92,646. Norway ranks low on the global list of adulterous countries but high when it comes to suicide.
24. Kingdom of Sweden
Insider Monkey's Score: 50.1
The Kingdom of Sweden is one of the few developed countries in the world. A Nordic European country, it has universal healthcare for citizens and ranks high in terms of quality of life. Sweden also ranks low on the list of the most alcoholic countries in the world.
23. Commonwealth of Australia
Insider Monkey's Score: 49.5
The Commonwealth of Australia is an Oceanic country. It has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, with the GDP per capita in nominal terms sitting at $64,964.
22. Republic of Austria
Insider Monkey's Score: 48.25
The Republic of Austria is a Central European country with a $479 billion economy. It has a diversified economy that relies on cars, industrial equipment, electrical products, and others to earn foreign exchange.
21. Republic of Finland
Insider Monkey's Score: 48
Finland is another prosperous Nordic nation that ranks high in human development and low in income inequality. It relies on petroleum products, paper, steel, and other products for its exports.
20. Republic of Poland
Insider Monkey's Score: 44.74
The Republic of Poland is a Central European country with a $748 billion economy.
19. Netherlands
Insider Monkey's Score: 44.45
The Netherlands is the flagship nation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Global economic turmoil has pushed its economy in a recession and is one of the wealthiest nations in the world.
18. Republic of Singapore
Insider Monkey's Score: 44.25
Singapore is a city and a country. It is one of the richest countries in the world, with a high number of millionaires. Singapore ranks low in adultery but high in suicide.
17. Slovak Republic
Insider Monkey's Score: 44
The Slovak Republic, or Slovakia, is a Central European landlocked country. It has a $127 billion economy but has high levels of income inequality. Slovakia also ranks high in suicide rates.
16. United States of America
Insider Monkey's Score: 42.8
The United States of America is the world's largest economy in nominal terms. It is the richest nation on Earth as well, but ranks quite high when it comes to suicide rates.
15. Japan
Insider Monkey's Score: 42.4
Japan is an Asian country that is one of the biggest economies in the world. Japan however ranks high when it comes to suicide rates, but low in adultery.
14. Kingdom of Thailand
Insider Monkey's Score: 41.25
The Kingdom of Thailand is a Southeast Asian country. It ranks low in human development, adultery, and suicide.
13. Swiss Confederation
Insider Monkey's Score: 40.75
The Swiss Confederation, or Switzerland, is a highly developed European country. A global financial hub, it ranks low in alcoholism and has a $841 billion economy.
12. French Republic
Insider Monkey's Score: 40.05
France is a global power and an economic powerhouse. It ranks high in adultery and has a $2.9 trillion economy - the seventh largest in the world.
11. Canada
Insider Monkey's Score: 38.9
Canada is a North American nation that offers universal healthcare and child assistance programs. Rich with natural resources, it has a $2 trillion economy.
