Happiness

Every year, Gallup does a survey to figure out how happy the people of each country are. This past May they released the results of last year’s survey, when they went to 138 countries and asked 1000 adults a few questions in each one. Based on the answers, they determined the percent of adults in each country that were happy. Last year’s results found that Syria, at only 38%, was the least happy country, which really isn’t surprising considering that they have an ongoing civil war. Every country except for Syria had a happiness rate amongst adults of over 50%, and the overall worldwide happiness rate was 71%. I know that the news these days makes everything look like doom and gloom, but overall, people actually seem to be pretty happy.

The list did seem to correlate fairly well with the UN’s list of per capita GDP by country, with one notable exception: Latin America, which dominated the top of the list. Latin American countries accounted for ten of the top eleven spots; the only non-Latin American country to break the top ten was Denmark. The happiest country was Paraguay, with 87% of adults being happy. Nicaragua came in at the number 4 spot, with 83% of adults being happy. The United States came in at number 24, with 78% of adults being happy. The difference between happiness rates of 78%, 83%, and 87% may not seem like much, but it also means unhappiness rates of 22% in the United States, 17% in Nicaragua, and 13% in Paraguay; so Americans are 29% more likely to be unhappy than Nicaraguans, and 69% more likely to be unhappy than Paraguayans.

This of course begs a couple questions: why are Latin Americans so happy? What makes them happier than people in far wealthier countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and most European countries? What makes Latin Americans different? I’m not sure what the answer is, but I think it’s probably a cultural difference. They’re happy because they do things that make them happy. The United States has a per capita GDP that is nearly thirty times as high as that of Nicaragua, and yet they are happier than us. It seems like they just have a culture of happiness.

As Americans, we like to pretend we know what it’s like to live in countries like Nicaragua. We feel bad for people who live in “third-world countries” (a term which I despise). I’ve even heard people refer to countries like Nicaragua as “third-world shitholes”. We seem to constantly look down upon these countries and feel bad for the people who live there…and yet many of them are happier than us.

The ultimate question in life, the question that everyone should always strive to answer for themselves, I believe, is this: how can I be happier? Sure, more money would probably help, but I don’t think that’s the best answer. I think the problem is that Americans chase happiness; we desire it so much that it consumes us, without us even realizing it. We chase things that we think will make us happier, but it never works. To quote David Foster Wallace: “If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never…feel you have enough… Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly… Worship power [and] you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, [and] you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out.”

I think the better answer is to do things that already make us happy, instead of things that we’re certain will make us happier in the future. I think Henry David Thorough put it best: “Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”