International evidence on the social context of wellbeing

Vox: International evidence on the social context of wellbeing

What accounts for life satisfaction differences across countries? This column presents new findings from the Gallup World Poll of more than 140,000 respondents worldwide. It suggests the happiest nations are those with strong social support from family and friends, freedom in making life choices, and low levels of corruption. …

…The top four countries all have high per capita incomes, although significantly below those in the US. They gain their top rankings through consistently high rankings in

    * social support from family and friends,
    * the freedom respondents feel themselves to have in making life choices, and
    * the lack of corruption in business and government.

These countries are also marked by:

    * very high levels of social trust, and
    * high levels of benevolent activities.

By contrast, life in the bottom four is marked by widespread corruption, and by an absence of social supports and perceived freedom to make life choices. …