World's happiest countries

[Richard Roman]

I

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).

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
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
Life expectancy at birth (years): 80.7
Income (GNI per capita): US$23,737
Population: 4.4 million

6. Canada
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
Population: 82 million

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

[Richard ridealgh]

So where are the happiest cities in the world? Living in a country so vast as say Australia will make it difficult to appreciate this happiness. 

Can I nominate CC. Not the best looking, surely not the cleanest, but its got an allure to it that many miss unless they stay for a while!!! 

[Richard Roman]

LOL Jeff- another story

The American businessman says TIME IS MONEY

The Mexican repies WHOSE TIME? WHOSE MONEY?

[CCF Beijing]

Though I an American who is very "pro-American".... it's hard to believe that we are that high up on the list....I think Mexico should be #1.... Read this joke....like any joke...its funny because there is some TRUTH to it!

The American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied only a little while. The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senior."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senior, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then, senior?"

The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions, senior? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Who is the SMART AMIGO....the Mexican guy!

 

[Richard ridealgh]

Found this, a different take on the measurement of happiness! Simply because thats a debate in itself - "What is Happiness"

How is happiness measured?

Happiness can be very subjective. Some people are happy when it rains, others are happy when the sun is shining. So how is it measured? Apparently the people at World Database of Happiness take into account a number of different things such as average life expectancy and most importantly the answer to the following multiple choice question “How happy are you?” (Although the actual question has varied a bit throughout the years). Having all the variables they run it through a computer and get a number from 1 to 10. The bigger the number, the happier the country

Happiest countries in the world

10. Luxembourg – 7.6 points

Living in the worlds richest country inevitably puts a smile on your face! This small landlocked European country has an army of 800 people (yes, 800). They don’t have a navy nor an air force but together with Belgium they can afford to own 1 military cargo plane. Beat that US! 

According to the Guinness Book of World Records Luxembourg holds the world record as the country that consumes most alcohol in the world per citizen.

9. Guatemala – 7,6 points

This Central American country borders with Mexico in the north and is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. This location makes it a very difficult country to stay happy in – Guatemala is frequently ravished by hurricanes and earthquakes that often kill thousands of people. Main exports of Guatemala include coffee, sugar and bananas. The latter is probably why they are so happy – have you ever seen someone that can stay sad while eating a banana?  56% of all Guatemalans live in poverty. If you ask me, they can use the cheap bananas!

8. Canada – 7,6 points

Many people have no idea that Canada’s head of state is actually Queen Elizabeth II – the head of the British Monarchy. This meant that when Britain declared war on Germany in World War I, Canada was automatically at war with the soon to be Nazi country. Unlike the neighboring US, Canada has never cancelled its relations with Cuba and has declined to take part from the Iraq War – instead, it has played a leading role in the United Nations peacekeeping missions and helped to launch a $1.5 billion initiative to help develop vaccines that could save millions of people in poor countries. It seems that happy people make a happy country!

See the rest of the countries here:

http://www.financialjesus.com/how-to-get-rich/top-10-happiest-count...

[Richard Roman]

Sexy Sydney, Marvelous Melbourne

Australia

the happiest, sunniest place on the planet

how is that for an advertising jingle?

[Jack Field]

2nd best country. No. 1 city. This is joke. Sydney, the best? It's Melbourne, I'm tellin ya. Sydney - bah!. Bunch of miscreants.