UNITED KINGDOM, July 28, 2006: India is the 125th happiest country in the world, a British scientist who has prepared a world map of happiness has claimed. Denmark is the happiest country in the world and Burundi in Africa is the most unhappy as per the map produced by Adrian White, analytic Social Psychologist at the University of Leicester. According to the study, happiness is found to be most closely associated with health, followed by wealth and education. “We were surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low, with China 82nd, Japan 90th and India 125th. These are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being,” a University of Leicester release said. Switzerland, Austria and Iceland follow Denmark in the map of happiness. It places United States at 23, UK at 41 and France at 62.
The study is based on data from 178 countries and on the findings of over 100 different studies around the world, which questioned 80,000 people. Participants were asked questions related to happiness and satisfaction with life. White analyzed data published by the CIA, UNESCO, WHO and the likes to create a global project of subjective well-being: the first world map of happiness. The projection, which is to be published in a psychology journal this September, will be presented at a conference later this year. “There is a belief that capitalism leads to unhappy people. However, when people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher GDP per capita, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy,” said Mr. White.