The World Happiness Report is less about laughing and smiling and more about life satisfaction. It is based on a study conducted by pollster Gallup, in which respondents are asked to score their lives on a scale of 1 to 10. Gloating (or even smiling) is not a common trait among Finns. However, according to the most recent poll, their lives were on average 7.7, which is much higher than the global average of 5.6. People in war-torn Afghanistan gave their life a mere 1.4 out of 10 rating, which puts them at the bottom of the list.
The Nordics are among the world’s most stable, forward-thinking, and secure nations, according to a number of other organizations. They hold the top spots in The Economist’s glass-ceiling index, which gauges how influential and important women are in the workforce. Additionally, the Nordics are among the richest nations in the world per capita, which usually has a big impact on life happiness.
Latin American nations also stand out on this metric, having better lifestyles than their incomes would imply. In other studies of happiness, such as how frequently individuals laugh or feel happy, these nations have also done better than the Nordics. The scientists provide a potential reason. As statistically significant as wealth and work status, they discovered that dining with others was a surprisingly powerful indication of subjective wellbeing when compared to eating alone. Even after taking other variables like age and education into consideration, that remains true.
In Latin America, it is customary to share meals and tables. According to reports, people in the area share nine meals a week with friends or relatives. (It is less than half of that in South Asia.) This might indicate that they are less isolated and more connected than their peers in other places. In fact, the study discovered that social support metrics are more strongly associated with life satisfaction than GDP per capita globally.
This might also be the reason for the decline in happiness in the United States and certain wealthy nations. Americans are living alone, eating alone, and working alone when they can. Although there are indications that the unrelenting rise in mental health issues among young Americans has slowed or perhaps reversed, 18% of American young people said in one poll that they did not have someone with whom they felt close.
