The World Happiness Report, released this week, saw Denmark reclaim its earlier distinction as the world’s happiest country. Close behind are Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.
More than the ranking of the various countries of the world, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network-prepared report provides useful insight into what people of different cultures see as indicators of their well-being.
The researchers, for instance, found that most of the happiest countries were fairly homogenous nations with strong social safety nets, that inequality was strongly associated with unhappiness, and that those on the bottom of the list suffer poverty and destabilization caused by war, disease or both. Unemployment and major disabilities have a lasting influence on people’s sense of well-being and that migrants’ happiness approximates their new country, not their country of origin.
The scholars also found that three-quarters of the variation could be explained by six variables: per-capita gross domestic product, healthy years of life expectancy, social support, trust in government and business, perceived freedom to make life choices, and generosity.
Filipinos are the 82nd happiest lot among 156 countries.
This, despite the fact that we like to say we can find happiness in the direst of situations and generate jokes from the most oppressive of circumstances.
What does this tell us? Being able to make fun of adversity and refusing to take ourselves too seriously is hardly the definition of happiness.
Happiness is being able to thrive on one’s situation. Certainly, most Filipinos do not feel as though they were thriving where they are. Millions are not able to attend to their basic needs—how much more pursue the higher items in the hierarchy?
The measure, despite the method that goes with it, remains subjective. Nonetheless it provides us—and our leaders—clues. Ultimately, all the programs will be evaluated on how they made people feel.
Happiness is fleeting, it is said, and may depend on an individual’s capacity for happiness. A general feeling of well-being however is not something one can imagine if the conditions are not there.