I received the 2012 list of the happiest nations in the world. Known as the Happy Planet Index (HPI), the list begins with Cost Rica at the top of the list and ends with Botswana at the bottom of the list.
I include the full list below.
The HPI measures what matters: the extent to which countries deliver long, happy, sustainable lives for the people that live in them. The Index uses global data on life expectancy, experienced well-being and ecological footprint to calculate this.
The index is an efficiency measure. It ranks countries on how many long and happy lives they produce per unit of environmental input. The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is the leading global measure of sustainable well-being.
Most measures of national progress, such as from the UN, are measures of economic activity, namely around economic production and consumption.
Yes, such a list means generalisations as well as positive and negative stereotypes of a country. But the list also reminds us that materialism and happiness bear little relationship. It frames the development of each country in the context of real environmental limits. In doing so, it reminds us that progress is not just about wealth
For example, Palestine ranks 35th in the index while the USA comes in as 105th happiest nation in the world, only four countries ahead of Afghanistan. It certainly reflects my experience of Palestine and the USA with years of listening to the inner life of the citizens of both countries.
Vietnam with its Buddhist tradition comes second. Such a turnaround in less than 40 years.. The USA government made war on the people of Vietnam with more than three millions Vietnamese deaths between 1963 and 1975.
Latin America features prominently in the Top 10. Bangladesh citizens came 11th. Israel were 15th. Pakistan 16th, Thailand 20th, New Zealand 28th, Norway 29th, India 32nd, Switzerland 34th, Iraq 36th, UK 41st, Japan 45th, Germany 46th, France 50th, Sweden 52nd, China 60th, Myanmar 61st and so on.
Here is the complete list of happiest countries for 2012
1 Costa Rica
2 Vietnam
3 Colombia
4 Belize
5 El Salvador
6 Jamaica
7 Panama
8 Nicaragua
9 Venezuela
10 Guatemala
11 Bangladesh
12 Cuba
13 Honduras
14 Indonesia
15 Israel
16 Pakistan
17 Argentina
18 Albania
19 Chile
20 Thailand
21 Brazil
22 Mexico
23 Ecuador
24 Peru
25 Philippines
26 Algeria
27 Jordan
28 New Zealand
29 Norway
30 Palestine
31 Guyana
32 India
33 Dominican Republic
34 Switzerland
35 Sri Lanka
36 Iraq
37 Laos
38 Kyrgyzstan
39 Tunisia
40 Moldova
41 United Kingdom
42 Morocco
43 Tajikistan
44 Turkey
45 Japan
46 Germany
47 Syria
48 Austria
49 Madagascar
50 France
51 Italy
52 Sweden
53 Armenia
54 Uzbekistan
55 Georgia
56 Saudi Arabia
57 Paraguay
58 Nepal
59 Cyprus
60 China
61 Myanmar
62 Spain
63 Korea
64 Bolivia
65 Canada
66 Malta
67 Netherlands
68 Yemen
69 Lebanon
70 Finland
71 Poland
72 Malawi
73 Ireland
74 Bosnia and Herzegovina
75 Romania
76 Australia
77 Iran
78 Haiti
79 Serbia
80 Azerbaijan
81 Libya
82 Croatia
83 Greece
84 Malaysia
85 Cambodia
86 Ghana
87 Slovenia
88 Iceland
89 Slovakia
90 Singapore
91 Egypt
92 Czech Republic
93 Uruguay
94 Ethiopia
95 Turkmenistan
96 Namibia
97 Portugal
98 Kenya
99 Zambia
100 Ukraine
101 Sudan
102 Hong Kong
103 Belarus
104 Hungary
105 United States of America
106 Djibouti
107 Belgium
108 Rwanda
109 Afghanistan
110 Denmark
111 Mauritius
112 Comoros
113 Cote d’Ivoire
114 Mozambique
115 Zimbabwe
116 Liberia
117 Estonia
118 Latvia
119 Kazakhstan
120 Lithuania
121 Congo
122 Russia
123 Bulgaria
124 Cameroon
125 Nigeria
126 Senegal
127 Angola
128 Mauritania
129 Burkina Faso
130 United Arab Emirates
131 Uganda
132 Benin
133 Tanzania
134 Congo, Dem. Rep. of the
135 Burundi
136 Trinidad and Tobago
137 Guinea
138 Luxembourg
139 Sierra Leone
140 Macedonia
141 Togo
142 South Africa
143 Kuwait
144 Niger
145 Mongolia
146 Bahrain
147 Mali
148 Central African Republic
149 Qatar
150 Chad
151 Botswana
May all beings live in peace and harmony