In a follow-up to This is America, we saw how America might not be the best country in the world.
According to the World Happiness Report, the USA is #16. Sandwiched between its neighbor Canada (15) and its former ruler, the United Kingdom (17).
If America isn’t the happiest place in the world and not the best place to live, where should we look? Here are the countries grouped by region that placed higher than America on the happiness report.
- Scandinavia: Finland (1), Denmark (2), Iceland (3), Sweden (7), and Norway (8)
- Western Europe: Switzerland (4), Netherlands (5), Luxembourg (6), Austria (11), Ireland (13), Germany (14)
- Oceania: New Zealand (10) and Australia (12)
- Canada (15)
A Note on Diversity and Privilege
All of the countries listed above are primarily white.
My family and I are of European heritage and could blend in if we moved to one of these nations. However, it is unsettling to think about why the “happiest” countries are not a melting pot like Canada (#35). Are the people in these nations “happy” because they are in a bubble?
How happy would they be if people challenged their status quo and ideals?
Countries By Ethnical Diversity Rankings
- Scandinavia: Finland (159), Denmark (174), Iceland (175), Sweden (178), and Norway (179)
- Western Europe: Switzerland (79), Netherlands (168), Luxembourg (80), Austria (167), Germany (151), Ireland (163)
- Oceania: New Zealand (107) and Australia (172)
- Canada (35)
No one wants to suggest being a diverse nation leads to distrust and unhappiness, but Robert Putnam published a report that seems to agree with my hunch.
Are immigrants happy in happy nations?
What’s To Come
I will go through each nation one by one, figuring out what makes its people happy and, more importantly, whether it is a place that may be of interest for a new family headquarters.
