A tiny country formerly known as the New Hebrides topped the list of happiest people on Earth. Now it is called Vanuatu, a place in the South Pacific, whose residents are Melanesians who settled there centuries ago.
The innovative global measure of progress, the Happy Planet Index, has been constructed by the New Economics Foundation and Friends of the Earth using three factors: life expectancy, human wellbeing and damage done via a country's "environmental footprint."
And despite its reputation of having one of the highest life expectancies in the world, Hong Kong is ranked 88th which clearly shows the level of stress and unhappiness that also outweighed its resistance to environmental degradation such as the seasonal visits of tropical storms and typhoons.
Vanuatu people who number around 209,000 is pretty much content with what they have. In a predominantly pastoral living, people are happy despite not having enough mineral resources or petroleum reserves that could bring dollars of development. In fact it is ranked 207th in terms of 233 countries in terms of Gross Domestic Product.
By the way, I read hairdressers are the happiest people on the job.
Hong Kong may have good telecommunications and transportation infrastructure, its very low rate of graft and corruption and its children regularly top Mathematics and Science exams worldwide, but these are not enough to keep people feel happy about living here.
Vanuatu is blessed with paradise-like beaches, unique rainforest and no income tax and even if the country is classified as poor, everyone has food to eat at every mealtime and do not worry if there are not enough tourists to fill its beaches and infuse a consumer-based tourism in the area.
Money cannot buy happiness. Notably rich countries like Denmark (112), Sweden (123), Finland (139) and Australia (154) are ranked on the lower half of the ladder. Canada couldn't crack the top 100 even if it's a dream destination to many immigrants.
Power cannot buy happiness. None of the G8 countries made it to the top 50 — with Italy ranked 66th, Germany 81st, Japan 95th, Canada 111th, the United Kingdom 108th, France 129th, the United States 150th and Russia 172nd.
The Philippines is a proud 17th despite Filipinos constantly whining about the inefficiency and corruption in the government as well as being hit by disasters of different types. This is a testament that everyone can be happy without the glitter of gold and thick wallets.
The more money you'll get the more you become insecure, unless you first know how to be happy without money. So why crave to have more money if you can't find happiness in there?
The innovative global measure of progress, the Happy Planet Index, has been constructed by the New Economics Foundation and Friends of the Earth using three factors: life expectancy, human wellbeing and damage done via a country's "environmental footprint."
And despite its reputation of having one of the highest life expectancies in the world, Hong Kong is ranked 88th which clearly shows the level of stress and unhappiness that also outweighed its resistance to environmental degradation such as the seasonal visits of tropical storms and typhoons.
Vanuatu people who number around 209,000 is pretty much content with what they have. In a predominantly pastoral living, people are happy despite not having enough mineral resources or petroleum reserves that could bring dollars of development. In fact it is ranked 207th in terms of 233 countries in terms of Gross Domestic Product.
By the way, I read hairdressers are the happiest people on the job.
Hong Kong may have good telecommunications and transportation infrastructure, its very low rate of graft and corruption and its children regularly top Mathematics and Science exams worldwide, but these are not enough to keep people feel happy about living here.
Vanuatu is blessed with paradise-like beaches, unique rainforest and no income tax and even if the country is classified as poor, everyone has food to eat at every mealtime and do not worry if there are not enough tourists to fill its beaches and infuse a consumer-based tourism in the area.
Money cannot buy happiness. Notably rich countries like Denmark (112), Sweden (123), Finland (139) and Australia (154) are ranked on the lower half of the ladder. Canada couldn't crack the top 100 even if it's a dream destination to many immigrants.
Power cannot buy happiness. None of the G8 countries made it to the top 50 — with Italy ranked 66th, Germany 81st, Japan 95th, Canada 111th, the United Kingdom 108th, France 129th, the United States 150th and Russia 172nd.
The Philippines is a proud 17th despite Filipinos constantly whining about the inefficiency and corruption in the government as well as being hit by disasters of different types. This is a testament that everyone can be happy without the glitter of gold and thick wallets.
The more money you'll get the more you become insecure, unless you first know how to be happy without money. So why crave to have more money if you can't find happiness in there?
No comments:
Post a Comment