Happiness

Did you know that there is a entity out there purporting to measure world happiness? Part of me wonders if this sort of calculus has as much meaning as this amazing pie chart (% that resembles Pac-man) or this exceptional graph (toast to tree ratio).

Nonetheless, happiness is measured. And, guess what? We’re not all that happy in the United States. I mean, we made the top 20–coming in at #18. But we fell this year and last year.

Obviously we’re doing better than the lowest-ranked nations. Those would be Burundi, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. 

WaPo interviewed the folks behind the numbers. And it turns out they care about immigration: “The most striking finding is the extent to which happiness of immigrants matches the locally born population… The happiest countries in the world also have the happiest immigrants in the world.”

So who is the happiest of all? Finland, as it turns out. Where, as the BBC reports, you can enjoy saunas, mental bands, live reindeer, and Angry Birds.

-KitJ