Norway happiest country; Philippines ranks 67th

Norway is the happiest country in the world and the United States the 12th. The Philippines ranks 67th.

The Central African Republic (CAR), a landlocked country of five million people in the middle of the African continent and where just 2 percent of the population have Internet access at home, is the saddest.

That is according to a study of 142 countries comprising 96 percent of the world’s population conducted by the London-based Legatum Institute Prosperity Index, a report posted on Forbes.com said.

The study was based on 89 indicators grouped into eight categories—economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom and social capital.

For the first time in the six-year run of the index, the United States slipped from the Top 10 to 12th.

In comparison to other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines ranked ahead of Laos (82nd) and Cambodia (107th), but was behind Singapore (19th), Malaysia (45th), Vietnam (53rd), Thailand (56th) and Indonesia (63rd).

Aside from Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan also made it to the Top 20 list of happiest countries at 18th and 20th places, respectively.

After Norway, where per capita GDP is at $57,000 a year, the next happiest countries were Denmark, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland.

“Norwegians have the second-highest level of satisfaction with their standards of living: 95 percent say they are satisfied with the freedom to choose the direction of their lives; an unparalleled 74 percent say other people can be trusted,” Forbes said in its report.  Inquirer Research

Sources: Forbes.com, Prosperity.com, Li.com

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  • Iggy Ramirez

    A line from the National Geographic’s slogan ID says “sometimes we have to get out to appreciate what is inside”. This is exactly what is happening to Norway. Their people leave the country for 70 days a year and head off to the tropics, where poverty is rife against a breathtaking background, and see that despite how inhospitable their country is, they are still enjoying the best standard of living.

    So they get to appreciate their country, even though it snows 8 months a year, and freezes the other 4. They convince themselves that 17 degrees is summer, and they get out and eat ice cream to beat the heat. 

    But despite a place so boring as Norway, the people there are actually quite down to earth and seem to keep things to themselves. It is only when they reach the tropics that you get to see their pig white skin, hair that seems to lose color, and dazzling blue eyes. They have a thick accent but are somehow quite proficient in English.

    Most have bad teeth, but not as bad as the Filipinos. You can hardly blame them for not brushing. Try brushing your teeth with ice and you will see how excruciating it would be. Filipinos hardly brush their teeth despite the abundance of water and they always have sweets or candies lodged in their mouths.

    • AlexanderAmproz

      Norwegian tourists coming in the Philippines are the basket bottom, the less educated.

    • Diepor

      Stupid comments. There is 4 seasons and the winter doesnt last 8 months. Spring is beautiful when everything gets green and the nights get long. Why do you talk bad about a nation of people that you dont know anything about. RACIST.

  • AlexanderAmproz

    To improve Filipino’s happiness, the priority is to end up this Feudal Clergy Trapos and 

    Plutocratic “System” and end up the organized starvation, scandalously poor school with fake text books.

    About 30% of the population don’t eat every days thank’s food export, Amazing ! 

    To implement a Filipino’s first politics, before export is an emergency.

    Gutum na Gutum with dying children’s, it’s so sad, happiness can’t be, its impossible !

    Myself, out of the game since few years, after to have done my best to help, I kept a mapahit taste.

    Usually in this country peoples helping the poor are killed.

    For the moment the country is still stepping on the head.

    I know P-Noy is doing his best with sincerity, but the task is enormous, 
    friendly and generous peoples are considered Stupid, the program to give money to the poorest will help, but to provide better study and better job is more important for self d

    For mentality to evolute is mandatory, corruption shouldn’t be tolerated any more, money as to go where it’s mostly needed, down the street.

    Well manage, the Philippines have the bases to be one of the world best country, no doubt about it, but it’s the last minute before an irremediable disaster on the way, mostly an irresponsible seas and land destruction. So many like Leonardo Go in Leyte, Joe de la Victoria in Cebu or Ortega the Palawan journalist, killed by the scots free Governor Reyes and Mayor brother, traditional Trapos. killers and thief as most of them, maybe all of them. Almost impossible to be a Mayor without it’s a thief and killer proved.

    This is absolutely insane !

  • http://www.facebook.com/estee.muri Estee Muri

    Seguro naman  the Catholic hierarchy  will  not agree with  the article. You see, the Philippines  is  really the  happiest country, kasi you can see naman  overpopulated na ang Philippnes , ibig sabihin   na  mas maraming happy couple ang Philippijnes  dahil sa marami ang mga anak kumpara sa Norway, kakuanti lang  ang mga tao!  He,he,,he ! Sarcastic  lang po Ako !

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MXOWXSFICOTS2EABQMULUO7UTY Rommel Jason

    Happiness is an intuitive feeling and cannot be dictated by parameters devised by a third party. Prosperity, perhaps, but happiness?? A person who doesnt know what an I pad is would not want it, in thesame space a person content with what he has cannot want for anything more. This commercial definition of happiness is just probably a feel good measure by this London group. (where in the world is London?)

    • AlexanderAmproz

      Of course I will agree,

      but also 50% of the population is below poverty level,about 30 millions don’t eat every day,
      children’s mortality rate is one of the World highest,
      women death rate at delivery is 15 women a day,
      60% of the medicines are fake
      can’t afford to buy fruits in a fruit Paradise,
      how many abandoned children’s looking for food,
      they don’t have parents love, etc. ? ? ?

      Did you already tray to smile with dying family members who can’t afford health care,
      while you have an empty stomach since two days and difficulties to buy drinkable water ?

      Next meal for next day will be plain rice and salty fish ?Smiling is difficult for too many,

      in case you are a Democratic Christian,

      just open your Eyes !

  • rjimenez1226

    The Philippine Senate is the  happiest country in the  world! It has stolen so much money  from the people!

  • abramble

    According to a TIME magazine article I read years ago, The Evolution of Despair, evolutionary psychologists appear to rate a tribe of prehistoric-life-style group living in an island of the South Pacific Ocean as the happiest people. Stress (and apparently, unhappiness) can be measured by the levels of cortisone in the bloodstream. When researchers measured the amount of cortisone in the bloddstream  of sample indifiduals, they found none.

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