On International Day of Happiness, which nations are happiest?
The United Nations created the International Day of Happiness, which is celebrated Wednesday (today), to recognize "the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world..."
It's a different way of evaluating nations apart from their economic wealth. With that in mind, I thought about a report last year from the London-based think tank Legatum Group that ranked 142 countries and came up with a Prosperity Index. It weighed factors like health, education, governance, personal freedom, etc.
The overall happiness rankings came out like this:
1. Norway
2. Denmark
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. New Zealand
6. Canada
7. Finland
8. The Netherlands
9. Switzerland
10. Ireland
For more on International Day of Happiness, go here.