This was published 7 years ago
World's happiest countries mapped: Australia is the 105th happiest country in the world
By Oliver Smith
Fakin' it: Australia is one of the world's least happy nations, according to the Happy Planet Index.Credit: Fairfax
Coming back to work after the summer break is one of the most miserable times of year. But surely they're still smiling in Costa Rica, the most cheerful country on Earth according to the annual Happy Planet Index? The index ranks 140 destinations according to "what matters most - sustainable wellbeing for all". GDP takes a back seat; instead it's all about judging "how well nations are doing at achieving long, happy, sustainable lives".
It means that Switzerland, Denmark and Australia, traditionally considered among the best places in which to live, are down in 24th, 32nd and 105th, respectively, while Costa Rica takes the top spot for the second year running - ahead of Mexico and Colombia. Norway is the highest ranked European country, at 12th, the UK trails in 34th, while the US limps home in 108th.
The 20 "happiest" countries (Happy Planet Index):
- Costa Rica
- Mexico
- Colombia
- Vanuatu
- Vietnam
- Panama
- Nicaragua
- Bangladesh
- Thailand
- Ecuador
- Jamaica
- Norway
- Albania
- Uruguay
- Spain
- Indonesia
- El Salvador
- The Netherlands
- Argentina
- The Philippines
"Wealthy Western countries, often seen as the standard of success, do not rank highly on the Happy Planet Index," it explains. "Instead, several countries in Latin America and the Asia Pacific region lead the way by achieving high life expectancy and wellbeing with much smaller Ecological Footprints. The Happy Planet Index provides a compass to guide nations, and shows that it is possible to live good lives without costing the Earth."
Bottom of the pile is Chad, followed by - surprisingly - Luxembourg, a country with the second highest per capita GDP in the world. Those countries that appear in grey on the map above were not included in the study.
The 20 least "happy" countries (Happy Planet Index)
- Chad
- Luxembourg
- Togo
- Benin
- Mongolia
- Cote d'Ivoire
- Turkmenistan
- Sierra Leone
- Swaziland
- Burundi
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Guinea
- South Africa
- Djibouti
- Botswana
- Lesotho
- Cameroon
- Hong Kong
- Niger
- Latvia
A rival to the Happy Planet Index is the World Happiness Report, which was announced in March. It ranks Denmark as the happiest place on Earth, out of 157 countries, followed by Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland. Costa Rica slips to 14th.
The alternative top 20 (World Happiness Report)
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Iceland
- Norway
- Finland
- Canada
- The Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Sweden
- Israel
- Austria
- United States
- Costa Rica
- Puerto Rico
- Germany
- Brazil
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Luxembourg
It rated Burundi as the least happy country, followed by Syria, Togo, Afghanistan and Benin.
The alternative bottom 20 (World Happiness Report)
- Burundi
- Syria
- Togo
- Afghanistan
- Benin
- Rwanda
- Guinea
- Liberia
- Tanzania
- Madagascar
- Yemen
- Uganda
- Burkina Faso
- Chad
- South Sudan
- Niger
- Angola
- Cambodia
- Cote d'Ivoire
- Comoros
The Telegraph, London
See also: World's most free and tolerant countries named
See also: The 17 best countries to visit in 2017
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