Just to throw a little gas on the fire, I recently read the 13th annual World Happiness Report, which ranks countries by happiness rather than GDP. The Report, published by the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre, asks people around the world to rate their own lives on a scale of 0-10 - zero being the worst possible life and 10 being the best possible life. The report also provides country rankings based on the three benevolent acts covered by the Gallup World Poll: donating, volunteering, and helping strangers, and discusses how the results vary depending on cultural and institutional differences.

According to the Report, Finland is the world's happiest country for the eighth successive year, with experts citing access to nature and a strong welfare system as factors. Three other Nordic countries scored in this year's top 10 “happiest countries,”, while Latin America's Costa Rica and Mexico entered the top 10 for the first time. Both the UK and the US slipped down the list to 23rd and 24th respectively - the lowest-ever position for the latter.
 
The Report includes a number of findings about why some societies are happier than others, and observations on the wellness effect that “people doing things for others” has on the happiness of both helpers and recipients. Food for thought.

worldhappiness.report - Executive summary

abromber