[Frida Ghitis] Is everybody happy?

How happy are you? How happy is the country? This very important question has gradually gained attention over the years, occupying the attention not only of psychologists and New Age gurus, but of economists, political scientists and government leaders.

The field of happiness studies is booming with researchers hard at work taking our emotional temperature, figuring out how we feel and trying to understand why.

The most recent results of Gallup’s regular survey on well-being around the world shine a light on the mysterious phenomenon of national happiness.

Gallup conducted interviews with people in 124 different countries, asking them to rank their lives on a scale from 1 to 10. Those with scores of 7 or higher were classified as “thriving,” in contrast to the less-happy categories “struggling” and, the worst one, “suffering.”

The sad news is that an average of only 21 percent across the 124 countries qualified as thriving. This is not a very happy planet.

Majorities reported thriving in only 19 countries. The happiest country, with 79 percent thriving, is the usually dark and cold Denmark. The least happy, with just 1 percent thriving, is perennially sunny Chad in Africa.

Most countries where most people thrive were, not surprisingly, rich nations. But not all.

The United States came in at No. 12, with 59 percent thriving. That’s more than most, but worse than other countries with more poverty and unemployment, and with much less wealth than America, whose people are among the world’s most affluent.

It’s not surprising that rich countries such as Sweden, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands made the list. But it is stunning what a high number of Latin American countries ranked among the Happy 19, despite high rates of poverty, crime and joblessness. Among the Latin American nations with happy majorities, in percentages, are Venezuela (64), Panama (61), Costa Rica (58), Brazil (57) and Mexico (52.)

If you think peace, security and a predictable future bring happiness, you wouldn’t have expected Israel to land in seventh place, ahead of the United States, with 63 percent thriving.

And if you see democracy as key to happiness, you’d be surprised to find the resolutely nondemocratic United Arab Emirates and Qatar at No. 16 and 19, respectively. The emirates don’t allow their people the vote, but they are extremely wealthy and the government takes good care of the population.

Asian countries with booming economies and millions of people rushing out of poverty into prosperity don’t have a lot of happiness to show for their success. Only 12 percent reported thriving in China.

Social scientists agree that money does help bring happiness, up to a point. Once people reach a certain level of affluence, additional wealth does little to improve well-being.

Many factors play a role, including cultural attitudes. Perhaps that explains why happiness defies poverty in parts of Latin America, and wealth cannot defeat pessimism in parts of Eastern Europe. But research also shows that happiness can be enhanced by education, good healthcare, strong relationships and political empowerment. Religious individuals are often happier, but the happiest nations tend to be secular.

Until recently, most governments and politicians had not concerned themselves much with their people’s happiness, a rather vague notion, preferring instead to focus on economic growth and measurable concepts such as the Gross Domestic Product ― or GDP. That, however, is very slowly changing.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, a Conservative, said something that even a hard-boiled capitalist couldn’t deny. “It’s time we admitted,” he said, “that there’s more to life than money.” Cameron said it’s time to start looking at what he called GWB, general well-being. GWB, he explained, “can’t be measured by money or traded in markets. It’s about the beauty of surroundings, the quality of our culture .?.?. and the strength of relationships.” He pronounced the improvement of well-being as “the central political challenge of our times.”

It was America that gave the world the revolutionary concept that “the pursuit of happiness” is one of the most fundamental of all human rights. And yet, which American politician would be brave enough to dare call for a government to ask the entire nation, How happy are we? And, even more daring, Should the government aim to make people happy?

By Frida Ghitis

Frida Ghitis writes about global affairs for the Miami Herald. ― Ed.

(The Miami Herald)

(McClatchy-Tribune Information Services)