How does one measure happiness? Arguably, it’s not an easy thing to do — especially since the feeling is relative.
For instance, a person who lives in a rich country may still feel miserable despite having the best things that money can buy, while a person who can’t make ends meet may still feel thankful for being alive.
Despite the obvious challenge, UK-based New Economics Foundation (NEF) — a think-tank promoting social, economic and environmental justice — took a crack at it and recently released the Happy Planet Index (HPI).
Using data from the Gallup World Poll, United Nations, World Bank, and Global Footprint Network, HPI calculated just how “happy” a country is.
Under the HPI, happiness is indicated by four factors: well-being, life expectancy, inequality of outcomes and ecological footprint.
Check out the formula below.
However, HPI explained, “Human rights abuses are a problem in most of the world, including in some of the high-ranking countries in the Happy Planet Index results. While the Happy Planet Index may reflect some of the negative impacts of these abuses, it does not seek to directly measure this. For more information about human rights in this country, visit the Amnesty International website.”
Based on the HPI computations, the Philippines is the world’s 20th happiest place. It’s not the absolute happiest place, but at least the ranking will probably still make Pinoys smile.
http://happyplanetindex.org/countries/philippines
Below are the top 50 countries on the HPI list with their respective scores:
1. Costa Rica – 44.7
2. Mexico – 40.7
3. Colombia – 40.7
4. Vanuatu – 40.6
5. Vietnam – 40.3
6. Panama – 39.5
7. Nicaragua – 38.7
8. Bangladesh – 38.4
9. Thailand – 37.3
10. Ecuador – 37.0
11. Jamaica – 36.9
12. Norway – 36.8
13. Albania – 36.8
14. Uruguay – 36.1
15. Spain – 36.0
16. Indonesia – 35.7
17. El Salvador – 35.6
18. Netherlands – 35.3
19. Argentina – 35.2
20. Philippines – 35.0
21. Peru – 34.6
22. Palestine – 34.5
23. Brazil- 34.3
24. Switzerland – 34.3
25. Tajikistan – 34.2
26. Guatemala – 34.2
27. Belize – 33.8
28. Sri Lanka – 33.8
29. Venezuela – 33.6
30. Algeria – 33.3
31. Kyrgyzstan – 33.1
32. Denmark – 32.7
33. Morocco – 32.7
34. United Kingdom – 31.9
35. Chile – 31.7
36. Pakistan – 31.5
37. Finland – 31.3
38. New Zealand – 31.3
39. Iceland – 31.1
40. Georgia – 31.1
41. Cyprus – 30.7
42. Nepal – 30.5
43. Austria – 30.5
44. France – 30.4
45. Dominican Republic – 30.3
46. Malaysia – 30.3
47. Croatia – 30.2
48. Ireland – 30.0
49. Germany – 29.8
50. India – 29.2
Log on to the HPI website for the full list of 140 countries.
