The results are in. Measuring the state of global happiness, the 2018 World Happiness Report names the happiest countries.
Happiness and its definition have fascinated me since my travels to Bhutan – THE land of Gross National Happiness. Before I discovered the first Happiness Report of 2012, I had been exploring the state of global happiness – and the quest for happiness – here, here, and here.
Last month, the 2018 #WorldHappinessReport was published. This landmark annual survey (since 2012, except for 2014) measures the state of global happiness by ranking 156 countries according to their happiness levels. Six key variables are the measured differences: Income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity.
With increasing globalization, and in some cases – mass populations on the move, this year’s report focuses on migration within, and between, countries. Happiness for the 2018 survey is measured and compared by dividing the residents of each country into two groups: Those born in another country (the foreign-born), and the rest of the population.
In addition to the customary ranking of levels and changes in happiness of all countries around the world, 117 countries were ranked by the happiness of their immigrants.
What’s the benchmark?
The benchmark for measurement is the fictitious country called Dystopia with the world’s lowest incomes, lowest life expectancy, lowest generosity, most corruption, least freedom and least social support. Baseline equals nearly zero.
Migration and happiness
Rural to urban migration within countries has been 6x greater than international migration with the Asia-Pacific region recording the largest numbers. Over the past 25 years, China's epic 450-million+ urban migration has been called “the greatest mass migration in human history.”
With large gaps in happiness among countries, some who migrate between countries will benefit and others will not. It follows that immigrants moving to happier countries than their native one will gain, and vice-versa. The caveats for migrants involve separation from those they left behind, and their acceptance by their host country. Each situation can have a negative effect on them.
The 2018 World Happiness Report is here. Take a look at the Migrant Acceptance Index as well, This measure illustrates the most and least migrant accepting counties around the globe, and provides a good background to the foreign-born ranking.
Country Happiness Ranking (156) | Total Population 2015-2017
While the top five countries remain the same as in 2017, Finland moved up from fifth to first place and replaced Norway as the happiest country this year. But the top 10 positions have been held by the same countries for years. For those top 10 countries, average life evaluations are more than twice as high, and GDP per capita is 30 times higher than the bottom 10 countries.
Finland
Norway
Denmark
Iceland
Switzerland
Netherlands
Canada
New Zealand
Sweden
Australia
The United States ranks 18th.
“Perhaps the most striking finding…a ranking of countries according to the happiness of their immigrant populations is almost exactly the same as for the rest of the population.”
Country Happiness Ranking (117) | Foreign-Born 2015-2017
For the top five countries, the average 2015 share of the foreign-born in the resident population is over 14%, well above the world average. Countries in the 6th to 10th positions of life evaluations are all above 20%. Therefore, the 10 happiest countries have foreign-born population shares averaging about 17%. That’s about 2x the world average as a whole.
For migrant happiness, nine countries are also top-10 countries for total population. The Netherlands moves to the 11th position and Mexico takes the 10th spot.
Finland
Denmark
Norway
Iceland
New Zealand
Australia
Canada
Sweden
Switzerland
Mexico
The United States ranks 15th.
The huge report continues to drill down through migrants by regions and countries, and also spends ample time exploring the 2018 question: “Do migrants generally gain happiness from moving to another country?” Very complex issues.
The report is a challenging, but fascinating read about consequential world issues that continue to shift as populations diversify and change – and social issues continue to polarize within borders.
Map infographics: © 2018 Janet Giampietro | Photo: Jeremy Liew on Unsplash
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