First Ever World Map of Happiness Produced

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Adrian White, an analytic social psychologist at the University of Leicester’s School of Psychology, analysed data published by UNESCO, the CIA, the New Economics Foundation, the WHO, the Veenhoven Database, the Latinbarometer, the Afrobarometer, and the UNHDR, to create a global projection of subjective well-being: the first world map of happiness.

Participants in the various studies were asked questions related to happiness and satisfaction with life. The meta-analysis is based on the findings of over 100 different studies around the world, which questioned 80,000 people worldwide. For this study data has also been analysed in relation to health, wealth and access to education.

Download World Map of Happiness (146KB)

“We were surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low, with China 82nd, Japan 90th and India 125th. These are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being.", said Adrian White.

"It is also notable that many of the largest countries in terms of population do quite badly. With China 82nd, India 125th and Russia 167th it is interesting to note that larger populations are not associated with happy countries."

“The frustrations of modern life, and the anxieties of the age, seem to be much less significant compared to the health, financial and educational needs in other parts of the World. The current concern with happiness levels in the UK may well be a case of the 'worried well'."

It is worth mentioning that the UAE is among the happiest nations in the world and the happiest among all the Arab countries:

Rank   Nation            SWLS Score
22     UAE               247
30     OMAN              243
31     SAUDI ARABIA      243
33     BAHRAIN           240
38     KUWAIT            240
45     QATAR             233
79     TUNISIA           213
91     YEMEN             207
108    LIBYA             190
113    LEBANON           187
114    MOROCCO           187
128    PALESTINE         180
134    ALGERIA           173
141    JORDAN            170
142    SYRIA             170
150    DJIBOUTI          160
151    EGYPT             160
173    SUDAN             120

Read Also:
A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology? (University of Leicester)
First Ever World Map of Happiness Produced (PhysOrg.com)