Global ranking is happy news for Norway
A new report shows Norway is the happiest country on Earth, Americans are getting sadder, and it takes more than just money to be happy.
OSLO, Norway — If you want to pursue happiness, grab a winter coat.
A new report shows Norway is the happiest country on Earth, Americans are getting sadder, and it takes more than just money to be happy.
What makes Norway and other northern European countries top the happiness list has a lot to do with a sense of community and broad social welfare support, according to experts and cheerful Norwegians, including one whose job it is to make people laugh.
“The answer to why Norwegians are happy — it’s a bit boring — it’s wellfunctioning institutions,” said Norwegian comedian Harald Eia. “The schools, health care, police, all the bureaucracy treat people with respect and that trickles down and makes us happy, makes us trust each other, makes us feel a part of the whole community. So it’s very boring: Bureaucrats are the secret to our happiness.”
In the U.S., happiness has been declining for the past decade even as the nation has become richer.
The United States was 14th in the latest ranking, down from No. 13 last year, and over the years Americans steadily have been rating themselves less happy.
“It’s the human things that matter. If the riches make it harder to have frequent and trustworthy relationships between people, is it worth it?” asked John Helliwell, the lead author of the report and an economist at the University of British Columbia in Canada (ranked No. 7).