What makes different countries happy?

Most people are pretty happy

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Subjective Well-being

Data from 916 surveys of 1.1 million people in 45 nations (Myers, 2000)

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Some of World’s Happiest People

Some of World’s Unhappiest People

Group Rating Forbes magazine’s “richest Americans” 5.8 Pennsylvania Amish

5.8 Inuit people in northern Greenland

5.8 African Maasai 5.7 Swedish probability sample 5.6 College students (across 47 nations) 4.9 Illinois Amish 4.9 Calcutta slum dwellers 4.6 Fresno, California homeless 2.9 Calcutta pavement dwellers (homeless) 2.9

Scale: “You are satisfied with your life” (1 = complete disagreement; 7 = complete agreement”)

Comparing the happiness of different people

1. Wealth

2. Health

3. Education

A nation’s level of happiness depends on…

Wealthier countries have:

More human rights Lower crime More democracy More equality More literacy More longevity Better health

Why wealth matters?

Yes, but…

GDP and Life Satisfaction 1973 - 2002

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1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

Life Satisfaction

GDP

Once people have enough money, more money does not make them happier

Life Satisfaction

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Money Love

Placing high importance on money correlates inversely with life satisfaction (-.53)Placing high value on love correlates positively with life satisfaction

And… Placing importance on money makes you LESS happy