I recently read about the announcement of the happiest countries in the world for 2023, and I also learned that March 20 is the International Day of Happiness. The list of the top 10 happiest countries in the world is as follows:
The list consists of almost the same nations every year with small changes, which made me wonder how happiness is measured and what common features these countries have.
The research is conducted by Gallup, Inc., an American analytics and advisory company. The company finds a diverse sample from the population of each country and uses the Cantril ladder survey method to ask participants questions about their happiness. The main question they ask is, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you with your life?" Based on the answer, the result is determined. Of course, they ask other questions to observe how much politics, social security, economics, etc., play a role in the final answer.
So, does the determination of happiness lie in just a simple question with just a simple answer? Some would say yes, while others, like me, would say yes and no. If you asked me that question and I had to scale it from 1 to 10 throughout a year, I am sure the points would definitely be different because happiness is determined by our everyday life and habits. There are millions of things that go through our complex minds, and so many variables that can alter the answer every minute. Therefore, I am not so sure that a question so simple can answer the question. On the other hand, if you have a steady job that pays well, a steady love life, a good house, and live in a peaceful country, most people would expect you to be happy, but will you be?
Now, what are the similarities of those countries that make them the happiest?
As I said in the beginning, for me, it's not that simple to find the happiest country in the world because I am sure that low-income and even war-torn countries have a lot of happy people who can find happiness in much simpler things than we can. Therefore, for me, this research is a blueprint for how a nation and a government that see the similarities in the already top 10 can better the lives of their citizens.
While i just simplify the whole report it's an excellent piece of work that really is complex.
You can find the report here
I would Love for any of you to give me you takeaway on the report or just you thoughts about measuring happiness and the following Questions.
