Populism and nationalism are surging across the world. Travel has been impacted by trade and immigration laws. Vacationing and digital nomadism is not going away anytime soon, but new laws, conflicts, and affordability (currency fluctuations) are making it difficult to traverse the globe easily. Migration from countries low in happiness and quality of life will continue to places where happiness is a default existence.
Greater Good Magazine shared a review of the most recent rankings from the World Happiness Report (WHR). The World Happiness Report is published by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and Greater Good Magazine.
These type of metrics are harder to extract within countries, states, and municipalities. Round Rock achieved a top 10 livable ranking in the United States. Americans are leaving colder climates for warmer areas like Round Rock. Some are choosing politics as a determinant to leave behind one place for another. Many are going where the jobs are. Nature and climate resilience is another priority as the weather wreaks havoc on quality of life. It appears happiness just requires a U-Haul truck anywhere in the world. 😃
The Nordic countries lead the way. The U.S. is surprising low at #24. Neighbors like Mexico (#10) and Canada (#18) outranked the U.S. Most of Europe is in the top 50. Japan comes in at #55. China is #68. India is a paltry #118. If the U.S. opened its borders to countries outside the top 50, everyone from those places would move here.
Kindness was a key determinant in the Oxford survey. According to Greater Good Magazine’s analysis of the WHR , these are the “top five countries for each form of kindness:
- Donating: Indonesia, Myanmar, Ukraine, U.K., Iceland
- Volunteering: Indonesia, Liberia, Kenya, Tajikistan, Nigeria
- Helping a stranger: Jamaica, Liberia, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya, Sierra Leone
- Expecting a neighbor to return a wallet: Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Austria
- Expecting a stranger to return a wallet: Norway, Iran, Algeria, Netherlands, Finland
- Expecting police to return a wallet: Norway, Finland, Germany, Austria, New Zealand
Greater Good Magazine noted “that countries with strong social support nets (such as paid parental leave, universal health care, and social assistance programs) may have less need for donating and volunteering—while, at the same time, citizens tend to trust others in the wallet test. In places where people trust the police less, like Jamaica, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, there is a strong culture of helping strangers—much higher than in places like the U.S.”
The U.S. is not the best place to live based on kindness and everyday happiness. Anecdotally, I consider it best for entrepreneurship and upward mobility, but that’s not what this survey measures.
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