2024 World Happiness Report

[Vambram]

2024 World Happiness Report: Happiest countries revealed, US fails to crack top 20

The 2024 World Happiness Report has been released on International Day of Happiness. The US is not in the top 20.

www.usatoday.com

The USA is out of the top 20 for the first time in a long, long time. Why are people in other countries so much happier, generally speaking, than they are in the USA?

 

[bèlla]

The article is self-explanatory and cultural differences are a factor. There's a lot of discontent in the US and many lack a positive outlook about the future. Which doesn't foster happiness. While I'm not in that group I can admit we have problems.

Quality of life is a big priority. We're slow living enthusiasts. We value a slower pace, good environment, time in nature, healthy food and vibrant communities. As our preferences shift we find our needs are best met elsewhere.

Don't get me I'm wrong I'm not anti-American. But the lifestyle we have is better suited for places with a similar ethos than one where we're going against the grain. I'm not surprised by the report. I expect we'll be lower in years to come.

~bella

 

[essentialsaltes]

"Nordic countries are still dominating the happiness charts."

Skål!

 

[Bradskii]

Yay! Made top ten. And I know you want want to know the least happiest...

1. Afghanistan (Score: 1.721)
2. Lebanon (Score 2.707)
3. Lesotho (Score: 3.186)
4. Sierra Leone (Score: 3.245)
5. Congo (Kinshasa) (Score: 3.295)
6. Zimbabwe (Score: 3.341)
7. Botswana (Score: 3.383)
8. Malawi (Score: 3.421)
9. Eswatini (Score: 3.502)
10. Zambia (Score: 3.502)

 

[trophy33]

Why are people in other countries so much happier, generally speaking, than they are in the USA?

Social security, social mobility, health, coherent society, political stability, good cities design and physical safety is my bet.

I would also add freedom and democracy, but thats not the difference specifically against the USA.

On the other hand, for example weather has a surprisingly low impact on overall happiness.

 

[Ophiolite]

2024 World Happiness Report: Happiest countries revealed, US fails to crack top 20

The 2024 World Happiness Report has been released on International Day of Happiness. The US is not in the top 20.

www.usatoday.com

The USA is out of the top 20 for the first time in a long, long time. Why are people in other countries so much happier, generally speaking, than they are in the USA?

I can only speak for Scotland. Donald Trump very rarely comes here.

 

[comana]

I think this is the relevant part for the US.
“The report did a break down and also ranked the happiness of different age groups. The United States ranked in the top 10 when the report analyzed the happiness of "the old," people aged 60 and over.

But, when it came to the happiness of the young, folks younger than 30, the country was ranked at 63.”

Boomers were born into a hopeful, prosperous age and were able to live the American Dream in young adulthood. By the time they reached retirement age, their homes had multiplied in value so much that they could sell and bank a tidy sum towards retirement, along with healthy retirement investments and or pensions. Of course they are happy!

The under 30s are feeling utterly hopeless for any thought of financial security.

 

[trophy33]

I think this is the relevant part for the US.
“The report did a break down and also ranked the happiness of different age groups. The United States ranked in the top 10 when the report analyzed the happiness of "the old," people aged 60 and over.

But, when it came to the happiness of the young, folks younger than 30, the country was ranked at 63.”

Boomers were born into a hopeful, prosperous age and were able to live the American Dream in young adulthood. By the time they reached retirement age, their homes had multiplied in value so much that they could sell and bank a tidy sum towards retirement, along with healthy retirement investments and or pensions. Of course they are happy!

The under 30s are feeling utterly hopeless for any thought of financial security.

Do you think young people in the countries above the USA have more things, more houses, more cars or more money than young Americans? My guess is the opposite is true, mostly.

 

[7thKeeper]

Do you think young people in the countries above the USA have more things, more houses, more cars or more money than young Americans? My guess is the opposite is true, mostly.

I suspect that the difference between generations is smaller in at least some of the countries ranked higher. This is just my own example, but I currently own my home (and the land) but with debt. So did my father when he was around me age and he paid off all of his debt around his 50s and I'm currently on track to do the same. So between our generations, at least housing-wise, there's not much of a difference. And if we look at social mobility in general, it's greater and healthier here compared to the US.

 

[comana]

Do you think young people in the countries above the USA have more things, more houses, more cars or more money than young Americans? My guess is the opposite is true, mostly.

I think they have a better quality of life. Many (if not all) of those countries have legally mandated vacation time that is 4 weeks or more, paid maternity /paternity leave that is months not weeks, affordable childcare, healthcare, higher education, etc. Robust public transportation systems mean they don’t need to buy a car. They may have smaller incomes and fewer things, but far less financial stress over starting a family and life in general.

 

[trophy33]

I think they have a better quality of life. Many (if not all) of those countries have legally mandated vacation time that is 4 weeks or more, paid maternity /paternity leave that is months not weeks, affordable childcare, healthcare, higher education, etc. Robust public transportation systems mean they don’t need to buy a car. They may have smaller incomes and fewer things, but far less financial stress over starting a family and life in general.

Agreed. Its not that the individuals are richer (most Europeans live in small rented apartments, have a small car...), its more about the riches being distributed in the society as a whole equally and in its public services, in its infrastructure.

But I think there is more than that. Differences in the mindset, culture, lifestyle, worldviews, priorities. Some simply make us happier than others.

 

[bèlla]

Many of the countries at the top of the list are known for their social connections. They gather and spend time together and its part of the culture. Whereas in America, it isn't uncommon to meet someone in their twenties or thirties who doesn't have friends or something to do on the weekend. Which would have been odd in the past. We're too isolated. We spend more time behind the screen than we do with one another and I don't think that's healthy.

~bella

 

[Vambram]

Biden’s Unhappy America: U.S. Hits New Low in World Happiness Report

How sad. The latest annual World Happiness Report sees the U.S. tumbling down eight spots to 23rd - an all-time low ranking.

www.breitbart.com

Significantly, the U.S. (23rd) has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time since the World Happiness Report was first published in 2012, driven by a large drop in the wellbeing of Americans under 30.
Afghanistan remains bottom of the overall World Happiness Report rankings as the world’s “unhappiest” nation.

Findings also suggest the wellbeing of 15- to 24-year-olds has fallen in North America.
The researchers say this is driven in part by a decline in how Americans under 30 feel about their lives while older Americans are happier — with President Joe Biden tending to do better with them.

“In the US, happiness or subjective wellbeing has decreased in all age groups, but especially for young adults,” Gallup managing director Ilana Ron Levey told CBS News in an emailed statement, adding that social connections are one key factor contributing to these generational disparities in happiness.
“The World Happiness Report and the Gallup/Meta social connectedness data show peak loneliness for younger Americans. It’s widely recognized that social support and feelings of loneliness are influential factors in determining overall happiness, and these dynamics differ across various age groups,” she said.
“The quality of interpersonal relationships may impact the wellbeing of younger and older individuals in distinct ways.”

 

[RoBo1988]

There once was a happy city, where they'd taken care of everything; the words you hear the songs you sing, the pictures that give pleasure to your eye.

It was one for all, all for one, they worked together common sons, they never needed to wonder how or why... until Geddy took that guitar to the priests of the temples of syrinx...

 

[trophy33]

Many of the countries at the top of the list are known for their social connections. They gather and spend time together and its part of the culture. Whereas in America, it isn't uncommon to meet someone in their twenties or thirties who doesn't have friends or something to do on the weekend. Which would have been odd in the past. We're too isolated. We spend more time behind the screen than we do with one another and I don't think that's healthy.

~bella

Countries known for their social connections, like Italy, Spain, Greece and basically the whole Asia, South America and Africa, did not make it to the top.

Countries at the top are actually quite known for their individualism, small families and being less religious (i.e. also no church social activities).