The Happiest Country in the World

It has been said that the strenght of a Nation comes from its people. The people give the Nation what it needs, the people provide the backbone for everything. But why are some nations still better off than others, when some nations have a lot more people than others?

Well, happiness plays a huge part there, it would seem. The happier the people are, the "stronger" the country, at least in most cases. But still, this is a never-ending cicle, since it is considered that wealth, education and health-care are the factors affecting a country's overall happiness. So it was said in a 2006 study conducted by the University of Leicester, in the UK. For this study, the happiest country in the world was Denmark. The free and high-quality education, the health-care options, and the overall GDP made this country really happy.

A study done last year reveals that the happiest country in the world is... Denmark, again! The World Values Survey is conducted by the University of Michigan. This survey asks people just two questions: "How would you rate your happiness?" and "How satisfied are you with your life these days?"

Pretty basic? Perhaps. But still, using two different surveys, Denmark came up as the first place in both of them! So, what are the Danes doing?

Professor Kaare Christensen of the University of Denmark, went out to ask questions to the Danes about why they had been named "The Happiest Country in the World." Their answer? "We have lower expectations." For Danes, not expecting too much, or at least having realistic expectations, helps them to cope with life. A student says they are not so happy as they are content. When asked to describe contentedness, he replied "Well, if you're content you don't have so much to worry about. That's what I think."

So, what do you say? Are Danes happy or just content? It might be one or the other, or maybe the two... but Danemark is still the Happiest Country in the World.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/14/60minutes/main3833797_page2.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody