Unless you’ve been living under that proverbial rock, you know that there’s some serious shade being tossed around between the United States, China, Russia, and the European Union. We could go into that but why bother? It’s a new year so why focus on the negative? Rather than analyzing who can beat up whom — there are tons of government-sponsored-muppets on X playing that game — let’s take it in a different direction. Who is the happiest? The data comes compliments of the World Happiness Report.

For those of you unfamiliar with the WHR (not to be confused with the much-maligned WHO), it’s like a delightful scoop of ice cream on a sunny day – it’s a refreshing and enlightening annual survey that serves up a global snapshot of how chipper or glum folks feel in their corner of the world. Think of it as a global mood ring, with a lot more science and a bit less mystique. It ranks countries based on factors like income, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and how well corruption is handled. It’s like a report card on national well-being, with countries strutting or sulking based on their scores.

And the winner is…….

Well, it is what it is. What’s interesting is that there seems to be a convergence of HAPPINESS somewhere on the horizon. Imagine everyone just got along? (I won’t hold my breath.)

WORDS: Marc Landas

IMAGE CREDIT: Human Progress.

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