Danes are Happiest People, Zimbabweans Least Happy

Walt Disney dubbed Disneyland the Happiest Place on Earth, but with gas approaching $5 a gallon, driving to Anaheim is expensive, making the freeway a trail of tears. According to the World Values Survey directed by University of Michigan’s Professor Ronald Inglehart, Denmark is the happiest country in the world. It comes as no surprise here that Zimbabwe is the least happy place. Overall, the world is becoming happier and has been since 1981, when the survey began.

Professor Inglehart noted, “Our research indicates prosperity is linked with happiness. It does contribute, but it is not the most important factor. Personal freedom is even more important, and it’s freedom in all kinds of ways. Political freedom, like with democracy and freedom of choice.” He added, “Ultimately, the most important determinant of happiness is the extent to which people have free choice in how to live their lives.”

In interviewing 350,000 people in 97 countries, the survey asked but two questions: “Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?” and “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”

America came in 16th, behind the likes of Puerto Rico [as a Commonwealth of the US, this skewed the data by breaking it out – why wasn’t California treated separately?], Colombia, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden. Professor Inglehart also said, “Americans’ dissatisfaction with the country’s current direction pulls down their sense of subjective well-being. But this is partly offset by other factors. The fact that Americans live in a free and tolerant society has more impact on happiness than economic prosperity or even additional income.”

At the bottom are countries like Zimbabwe, Russia, Iraq, Moldova and Armenia. All have economic problems (Russia’s wealth is not divided very equitably, and the others have little enough). All have governmental misrule. And all have trouble with security – citizens fear their government or organized crime. In Zimbabwe’s case, they are one and the same.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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