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Worlds happiest countries: 1 to 187 | CNNGo.com

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World's happiest countries: 1 to 187

It's good to be Norwegian, according to the U.N.'s latest "happiness index"
By Jane Leung (/author/jane-leung) Send 15,681 people 4 November, 2011

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Norway ranks number one on the UN Human Development Index. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Norway has been declared the world's happiest country. Just as unsurprising, the Democratic Republic of Congo came last. The United Nations Human Development Index 2011 (http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/) measures
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19/06/2012

Worlds happiest countries: 1 to 187 | CNNGo.com

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happiness in different countries based on factors such as income, education, health, life expectancy, economy, gender equality and sustainability.

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"To be more accurate, one would say this measures the quality of life. It goes beyond income to include basic measures like education and health," says Surekha Subarwal, U.N. communications representative from New Delhi. More on CNNGo: Best cities to travel in 2012 (http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/escape/lonelyplanet-best-cities-travel-2012-716747)

Essentially the index implies that if you live longer, earn more money and have access to good schools and healthcare, you're probably going to be happier than people who don't. This is more than just the traditional index which just measure average income, health and education, says Adam Rogers, the U.N.'s communications officer in Geneva. "This measurement of human wellbeing and happiness introduces the inequality dimension, a measure of access to health and education. Bhutan, the only country that gauges its progress by measuring its people's happiness rather than economic contributions, came a rather lowly 141. Rogers clarifies, This study is much more empirical than the Gross National Happiness (http://www.bhutan.gov.bt/government/gnh.php) (GNH) Index you will find in Bhutan, which is quite subjective. Just missing out on a top 10 spot was Switzerland in 11th place. The United States came fourth while the United Kingdom came 28th, below Hong Kong (13th), Korea (15th), France (20th), Singapore (26th) and the Czech Republic (27th). More on CNNGo: Kalasha: Happiest people in Pakistan?
(http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/life/kalasha-happiest-people-pakistan-261067)

Top 10 happiest countries

1. Norway Life expectancy at birth (years): 81.1 Income (GNI per capita): US$47,557 Population: 4.9 million 2. Australia (http://www.cnngo.com/sydney/visit/worlds-best-city-423142)
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19/06/2012

Worlds happiest countries: 1 to 187 | CNNGo.com

Life expectancy at birth (years): 81.9 Income (GNI per capita): US$34,431 Population: 22.7 million 3. The Netherlands Life expectancy at birth (years): 80.7 Income (GNI per capita): US$36,402 Population: 16.6 million 4. United States Life expectancy at birth (years): 78.5 Income (GNI per capita):US$ 43,017 Population: 313 million 5. New Zealand (http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/play/10-ways-experience-new-zealands-wild-side407905)

Life expectancy at birth (years): 80.7 Income (GNI per capita): US$23,737 Population: 4.4 million 6. Canada (http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/world-has-not-changed-much-least-according-worldsmost-liveable-city-list-755223)

Life expectancy at birth (years): 81 Income (GNI per capita): US$35,166 Population: 34 million 7. Ireland Life expectancy at birth (years): 80.6 Income (GNI per capita): US$29,322 Population: 4.5 million 8. Liechtenstein Life expectancy at birth (years): 79.5 Income (GNI per capita): US$83,717 Population: 36,300 9. Germany Life expectancy at birth (years): 80.4 Income (GNI per capita): US$34,854
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19/06/2012

Worlds happiest countries: 1 to 187 | CNNGo.com

Population: 82 million 10. Sweden Life expectancy at birth (years): 81.4 Income (GNI per capita): US$35,837 Population: 9.4 million

Bottom 10
178. Guinea Life expectancy at birth (years): 54.1 Income (GNI per capita): US$863 Population: 10.2 million 179. Central African Republic Life expectancy at birth (years): 48.4 Income (GNI per capita): US$707 Population: 4.4 million 180. Sierra Leone Life expectancy at birth (years): 47.8 Income (GNI per capita): US$737 Population: 6 million 181. Burkina Faso Life expectancy at birth (years): 55.4 Income (GNI per capita): US$1,141 Population: 17 million 182. Liberia Life expectancy at birth (years): 56.8 Income (GNI per capita): US$265 Population: 4.1 million 183. Chad Life expectancy at birth (years): 49.6 Income (GNI per capita): US$1,105 Population: 11.5 million 184. Mozambique
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Worlds happiest countries: 1 to 187 | CNNGo.com

Life expectancy at birth (years): 50.2 Income (GNI per capita): US$898 Population: 23 million 185. Burundi Life expectancy at birth (years): 50.4 Income (GNI per capita): US$368 Population: 8.5 million 186. Niger Life expectancy at birth (years): 54.7 Income (GNI per capita): US$641 Population:16 million 187. Democratic Republic of Congo Life expectancy at birth (years): 48.4 Income (GNI per capita): US$280 Population: 67.7 million

Jane Leung is a Hong Kong-born Canadian who has dabbled in the mixed media bag of film and television production, the professional (/author/jane-leung) sports industry and magazine publishing. Read more about Jane Leung (/author/jane-leung)
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