The 10 happiest countries in the world, according to the UN

Experts of the United Nations (UN) have developed a document in which different variables related to the welfare and development of the different countries of the world are measured. This has been called the 2015 World Happiness Report, which has been carried out since 2012 and includes a total of 158 countries.

The wellness (or perception of well-being) of the citizens of a country is recognized as a measure of social progress and the success of public policies. Many governments (though not all) both local and national use this data and research to look for policies that help their citizens to live better.

United Nations Organization: what is it?

The UN is an international organization of sovereign states, composed practically of all the countries of the world. It was created on October 24, 1945 in San Francisco (United States) when representatives of 51 countries met at the United Nations Conference to draft the Charter of the United Nations.

This organization aims to help stabilize international relations and give greater consistency to peace in the world . Currently, there are 193 member countries of the UN, and this has the following objectives:

• Maintaining peace throughout the world
• Promote friendly relations between nations
• Collaborate to help the poor get out of poverty, combat hunger, disease, illiteracy, and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.
• To be a center that helps nations achieve their goals.

Which are the countries with the greatest happiness?

The World Happiness Report 2015 is an investigation that has been developed by the UN's Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and measures the welfare of citizens of different countries according to a series of statistical variables and individual perceptions.

Spain is ranked 36 in the 2015 World Happiness Report

The first World Happiness Report was published in April 2012, the second in 2013 and the latter in 2015. According to the latest report (which includes the 2014 data), Spain is ranked number 36 with a total of 6,329 points. The ranking is led by Switzerland, which has obtained a total of 7,587 points. In the list of happiest countries in the world you can also see the most unhappy countries, which are: Togo, Burundi and Syria.

Some variables measured by the World Happiness Report

To elaborate the list of the happiest countries in the world, different data related to the levels of economic development, but also other variables that have a subjective character , as are the positive and negative experiences expressed by the population following different patterns by sex, age and region.

The different variables that have been used for this study can be seen in different colors in this image. The final result comes from the data collected from the various sources and surveys.

These are the data that have been taken into account to enlist the happiest countries in the world:

• Gross domestic product per capita : It is based on purchasing power parity (PPP), that is, the final sum of quantities of goods and services produced in a country, to the monetary value of a reference country. In this case adjusted to dollars (World Bank data).
• Social support : opportunity to receive help from family or friends in case of problems (Gallup survey data).
• Life expectancy : according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The freedom to make decisions in life (Gallup survey data).
• Generosity : how much money is donated to the NGOs.
• The perception of corruption : citizens' perception of the government and companies.
• Positive affect or : refers to how much people laugh according to the poll data from the Gallup poll).
• Negative affect : refers to the perception of sadness and anger (data from the Gallup survey).

The gray bar is called "Dystopia." It refers to a hypothetical country that would be the saddest, with the maximum value of the sum of the lowest negative scores. That is to say, it would be the most corrupt country, with the saddest people, with the lowest life expectancy, etc. The longer the bar, the further away from that hypothetical negative country is the state that is analyzed.

The list of the 10 happiest countries in the world

Below we show you the list of 10 happiest countries in the world :

1. Switzerland

The Alpine country has a cohesive society open to the world that allows it to lead this ranking.

2. Iceland

Despite the tremendous cold that bathes the Icelandic territory, this small Atlantic country is second on the list.

3. Denmark

A beautiful country, cozy, with a high standard of living. Denmark makes podium

4. Norway

The first four happy countries are located in the old continent: Europe.

5. Canada

The first American country on the list. And it is not surprising, considering the high rate of development, anti-war policies and a cohesive and open society.

6. Finland

The Scandinavian countries have a total representation. Finland It is also on the list.

7. Netherlands

A flat territory where people travel by bicycle and respect the ecology.

8. Sweden

It is already known that the Nordic countries have a very high standard of living. Sweden it is the country that occupies the eighth position.

9. New Zealand

The continent of Oceania has its first representation with the islands of New Zealand .

10. Australia

Oceania repeats: Australia is the country that closes this list of the happiest countries on the planet.

Consult the UN report

You can consult the full UN report by clicking on this link.

Top 10 Happiest Countries In The World (April 2024).