The happiness level of countries in the world

United Nations General Assembly's second World Happiness Report, ranks countries based on several measures of well-being and analyzes the factors that contribute to that well-being.

Happiness counts

Some years ago the researchers from Bhutan has tried to measure "gross national happiness" to counter measures such as gross domestic product, arguing that such simple metrics don't capture what is really meaningful to people.

Last year's study showed that whereas rich people are happier on average than poor people, increasing GDP in a country doesn't necessarily boost well-being. For instance, GDP tripled in the United States since the 1960s, yet well-being has stagnated.

To assess world happiness in the new study, the researchers analyzed happiness data starting from 2005. Most of the data came from the Gallup World Poll, which surveyed more than 150 countries around the world.

More than three-quarters of the differences in happiness scores were attributable to six key metrics:

ü real GDP per capita;

ü healthy life expectancy;

ü perceived freedom to make life choices;

ü freedom from corruption and generosity.

Some materials from: www.livescience.com