Since the UN declared March 20 as International Day of Happiness in 2012, the Columbia University Research Center has been compiling a ranking of countries in the world for their ability to provide the happiest lives for their people. The UN publishes this data in The World Happiness Report.
It is much more difficult to compile a list of the happiest states than to arrange them according to some other (economic, political, demographic, etc.) criterion. For example, the world ranking of the richest countries is based on the level of national wealth. It is headed by regions with vast oil and gas reserves. What are countries with high GDP per capita doing to ensure the well-being of their citizens? Indeed, most people want not so much to live in wealth as to be healthy and happy.
As a general rule, to compile a ranking according to the level of happiness for each country participating in the study, a certain index is determined. It is calculated on the basis of the aggregate of three generally accepted in the methods of cross-country comparison of indicators.
- The general well-being of the nation and the ecological situation in the country is reflected by the International Happy Planet Index. Analyzing the subjective judgments revealed in the course of various surveys, they determine the degree of people's satisfaction with their lives. The longevity factor is calculated based on the average life expectancy in the region. An indicator called the "ecological footprint" of the state determines the degree of impact on the environment.
- GDP per capita (GDP index). The Gross Domestic Product characterizes the wealth of a country. The market value of all finished goods and services produced during the year on the territory of the state, both for own consumption and for accumulation and export, is one of the main macroeconomic evaluation criteria in the world.
- Human Development Index, abbreviated as HDI. It is a combined indicator of the main characteristics of human potential. The quality of life in the country is assessed by three factors: the state of health of the nation and the death rate in the region; literacy and education; average income and purchasing power of the population.
Thus, the calculation of the happiness index includes not only objective indicators (such as GDP, ecological footprint and HDI), but also a subjective assessment - the degree of people's satisfaction with their lives.
Participants in the study are compared for their happiness level with the state, which has the lowest national average for all the key variables used in the calculation. This is a hypothetical country called Dystopia. Each factor is evaluated on a 10-point scale. Then, based on the calculations, the index of happiness is derived. The value of the indicator for the happiest countries is more than 7. The happiness index of the last ones ranges from 2-3 units.
The approaches to understanding what a happy life is are quite numerous and varied, because the very concept of “happiness” does not have an unambiguous interpretation.
There are over 1000 criteria used to measure life satisfaction. They are used in compiling various scales that allow the most accurate assessment of the subjective feeling of pleasure from life. But be that as it may, there are two indispensable aspects included in the calculation of the "happiness" indicator:
- a person's desire to live a long and fulfilling life in a prosperous state;
- The desire of every self-respecting country to do everything possible to provide its citizens with conditions for a comfortable life.
The methodologies used by scientific and research centers compiling lists of prosperous countries have changed slightly over time. Previously, indicators were the main economic indicators, which are objective characteristics of the successful and sustainable development of society. Recently, the emphasis is on measuring subjective assessments of people's well-being based on their assessments of the level and quality of life. Thus, the ranking of countries by the level of happiness - 2018 was compiled based on the analysis of the following indicators of the state of society.
- Per capita GDP; rational use of resources; minimization of damage to the environment; average healthy life expectancy of citizens; guarantee of employment of the able-bodied population and the level of unemployment; inflation and interest rates; provision of social support measures for those who need it, etc. These are objective indicators of how effectively the state takes care of its citizens.
- A subjective assessment of the well-being of a country is formed on the basis of an analysis of the reviews of people living in it, who indicate certain reasons for joy and concern. The opinion of the respondents regarding the corruption of state structures and business is taken into account; the presence of political rights and civil liberties; the level of crime and personal safety; accessibility of medicine and education, etc. The level of a person's happiness is also determined by various indirect indicators. Here, the degree of trust in the authorities and in their fellow citizens, a sense of calmness and confidence in the future, personal freedom in making vital decisions, family stability, participation in charity, etc. are important here.
The results of the formation of the currently relevant comparative list of happy countries were published on March 14, 2018 in the UN report on world happiness. The well-being of their own population was assessed in 156 countries of the world, and the level of happiness of immigrants was analyzed for 117 countries. The resulting estimated index was placed in the range from 0 to 10.
Finland leads the ranking (7, 632). The outsiders of Burundi (2, 905).
Togo has made the biggest leap - the country has climbed 17 points from its last position last year.
Venezuela collapsed the hardest of all, its index value declined by more than 2, 2 units.
Countries such as Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and Finland have simply castled in their first positions over the past few years.
The top 10 consistently includes Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden, as well as Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Among the regions of the post-Soviet space, the situation is best in Uzbekistan - it is on the 44th line of the rating and ahead of Russia by 15 points. The next 60th place after the Russians is occupied by Kazakhstan. Belarus is in 73rd place. The rest of the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as they say, are included in the hundred. Ukraine distinguished itself, which took 138th position out of 156 possible.
As for the level of happiness among Russians, we have nothing to boast about in the world ranking. Russia dropped from 49th place last year to 59th. At the same time, according to the All-Russian telephone survey conducted by VTsIOM on March 13-14, 2018, 80% of Russians called themselves happy.
What's the matter?
It is possible that there is an incorrectness in the methods used by scientists to determine the index of happiness. Or maybe in how our fellow citizens assess their feeling of happiness?
