Between 1995 and 2005, the best six countries in which to live a long happy life were Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, Sweden and Australia. If you lived in one of these places, you could expect to have sixty or more ‘happy-years’ of life. ‘Happy-years’ are calculated by multiplying happiness levels by life expectancy.
Denmark, Switzerland and Austria had the happiest citizens, describing themselves as eight out of ten in satisfaction with their lives. Japanese citizens lived longer than any other nation – almost 81 years on average – but had a low happiness score of six out of ten.
Top 25 Countries for Happy-Life Years
(happiness levels multiplied by life expectancy, 1995-2005)
- 63.9 Switzerland
- 62.7 Denmark
- 62.2 Iceland
- 61.0 Austria
- 60.8 Sweden
- 60.7 Australia
- 59.8 Canada, Finland
- 59.3 Norway
- 59.0 Luxembourg
- 58.7 Netherlands
- 58.3 Ireland
- 58.2 Malta
- 57.0 USA
- 56.5 Belgium
- 55.8 New Zealand
- 55.7 Germany
- 55.3 Mexico
- 55.2 Britain
- 54.2 Italy
- 54.1 Spain
- 53.7 Cyprus
- 53.0 Kuwait
- 52.9 Singapore
- 52.2 Israel
Top 25 Countries for Average Happiness
(satisfaction with life on a scale of one to ten, 1995-2005)
- 8.2 Denmark
- 8.1 Switzerland
- 8.0 Austria
- 7.8 Iceland
- 7.7 Australia, Finland, Sweden
- 7.6 Canada, Guatemala, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway
- 7.5 Malta, Netherlands
- 7.4 USA
- 7.3 Belgium
- 7.2 Germany, El Salvador, New Zealand
- 7.1 Britain, Honduras
- 7.0 Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
- 6.9 Italy, Spain, Cyprus
Top 25 Countries for Average Life Expectancy
(measured in years, 1995-2005)
- 80.8 Japan
- 79.5 Iceland
- 79.4 Sweden
- 79.2 Canada
- 79.0 Switzerland
- 78.9 Australia
- 78.6 Italy, France, Spain
- 78.5 Israel
- 78.4 Norway
- 78.1 Greece, Netherlands
- 78.0 Belgium, Cyprus
- 77.8 Austria, Malta
- 77.6 Britain, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore
- 77.4 Finland, Luxembourg
- 76.9 USA
- 76.6 Ireland
Sources:
- Report: Veenhoven, R., Happy Life Years in 95 nations 1995-2005, World Database of Happiness, Rank Report 2006-2b
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