Subjective well-being in 97 countries

based on reported happiness and life satisfaction, equally weighted

(Ranked from happiest to least happy. Negative scores indicate that
a majority of the population is unhappy/dissatisfied with life)
.
Country
Denmark
Puerto Rico
Colombia
Iceland
N Ireland
Ireland
Switzerland
Netherlands
Canada
Austria
El Salvador
Malta
Luxemburg
Sweden
New Zealand
U.S.A.
Guatemala
Mexico
Norway
Belgium
Britain
Australia
Venezuela
Trinidad
Finland
Saudi Arabia
Thailand
Cyprus
Nigeria
Brazil
Singapore
Argentina
Andorra

Mean
4.24
4.21
4.18
4.15
4.13
4.12
3.96
3.77
3.76
3.68
3.67
3.61
3.61
3.58
3.57
3.55
3.53
3.52
3.50
3.40
3.39
3.26
3.25
3.25
3.24
3.17
3.02
2.96
2.82
2.81
2.72
2.69
2.64

Malaysia
W. Germany
Vietnam
France
Philippines
Uruguay
Indonesia
Chile
Dominican Rep
Japan
Spain
Israel
Italy
Portugal
Taiwan
E. Germany
Slovenia
Ghana
Poland
Czech Rep
China
Mali
Kyrgyzstan
Jordan
Greece
S Africa
Turkey
Peru
S Korea
Hong Kong
Iran
Bangladesh
Bosnia

2.61
2.60
2.52
2.50
2.47
2.43
2.37
2.34
2.29
2.24
2.16
2.08
2.06
2.01
1.83
1.78
1.77
1.73
1.66
1.66
1.64
1.62
1.59
1.46
1.45
1.39
1.27
1.24
1.23
1.16
1.12
1.00
0.94

Croatia
Morocco
India
Uganda
Zambia
Algeria
Burkina Faso
Egypt
Slovakia
Hungary
Montenegro
Tanzania
Azerbaijan
Macedonia
Rwanda
Pakistan
Ethiopia
Estonia
Serbian Bosnia
Lithuania
Latvia
Romania
Russia
Georgia
Bulgaria
Iraq
Albania
Ukraine
Belarus
Moldova
Armenia
Zimbabwe

Mean:

0.87
0.87
0.85
0.69
0.68
0.60
0.60
0.52
0.41
0.36
0.19
0.13
0.13
-0.06
-0.15
-0.30
-0.30
-0.36
-0.45
-0.70
-0.75
-0.88
-1.01
-1.01
-1.09
-1.36
-1.44
-1.69
-1.74
-1.74
-1.80
-1.92

1.57

Source: Combined data from 1995 2007 World Values Surveys.

To maximize reliability, data from the last three waves are combined.
Countries in bold face have negative scores, indicating predominantly unhappy or dissatisfied publics.