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  • Let's talk about happiness.

  • What countries have really achieved it, and why should we care about it?

  • When we look at global rankings, we're often talking about things like purchasing power,

  • military resources, trade partnerships.

  • But some experts say happiness is actually a better indicator of development and public

  • policy successes than other factors.

  • So today, we're breaking down the annual World Happiness Report, to look at which countries

  • keep topping the list, and why.

  • The report - now in its sixth year - is produced by a UN initiative called the Sustainable

  • Development Solutions Network.

  • They've managed to break down a topic that's both fundamentally subjective and hard to

  • quantify.

  • So, notice anything about the top 10?

  • Yes, all the Nordic countries are in there.

  • They've all ranked among the top 10 since the report was first put out.

  • And Switzerland - this year's #5 - has also always hovered near the top.

  • So what are the factors that Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland, the happiest

  • countries in the world?

  • We spoke to an economist, John Helliwell, who has edited the reports since the beginning.

  • He said the data were compiled from the World Gallup poll, wherein people were asked to

  • value their lives as a whole, with the best possible life being a 10 and the worst possible

  • being a 0.

  • Economists also analyzed six major factors that they say explains a significant part

  • of it:

  • And though we might expect personal or national wealth to be the biggest determining factor

  • - it's not.

  • To be a top ranked country, it isn't just about being really rich or about being socially

  • connected or about having a really good government, it's a whole mixture.

  • In the U.S. for example, the GDP increased by more than a trillion dollars over the three

  • years data was collected for the report, but its happiness ranking dropped 4 spots down

  • to 18th.

  • Helliwell says social support, freedom, generosity, and trust in institutions are actually the

  • most significant underlying factors among the happiest countries.

  • The Nordic countries, for example, all have tuition-free college options, provide versions

  • of universal - and in some cases, free - healthcare coverage, and have a variety of other social

  • safety nets.

  • Norway provides up to a year of full-salary paid sick leave.

  • In Sweden, parents are entitled to almost 16 months of paid parental leave per child.

  • That includes those who are unemployed.

  • And in Finland, this year's winning country, the government even providesbaby boxes

  • to all new parents - filled with things like clothes, spoons, slippers and a thermometer.

  • Or parents can choose a check instead.

  • In 2017, it also became the first country in Europe to pilot a Universal Basic Income

  • program, under which 2,000 unemployed citizens received a no-strings-attached monthly stipend

  • from the government.

  • I've joked with the other Americans that we are living the American dream here in Finland.

  • I just see how well everything works from medical, free healthcare for everyone, transportation

  • that's really efficient and really good schools that are free or very low charge to students

  • and their families.

  • And Helliwell says citizens are generally happy to pay the price.

  • Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland all rank among the highest taxed countries in

  • the OECD.

  • Researchers also found overlap between countries with big social safety nets and citizens who

  • feel the most free to make life decisions.

  • Why?

  • Turns out, those universal education and healthcare systems may act as equalizers for other parts

  • of life.

  • Those systems are ones that give high level education possibilities to everybody.

  • So regardless of whatever environment you came from, you'll have the same opportunities

  • for education as everybody else.

  • And of course they're very good systems as well.

  • And the same is true of the health system.

  • But it goes beyond taxation and social services.

  • By this report's standards, “social supportalso means having somebody to count on when

  • you need them.

  • It's what allows some countries to maintain high happiness ratings even during crises,

  • while others see drastic drops.

  • For example, says Helliwell, when Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal went through financial

  • crises around the same time, their reported well-being declined.

  • But in Iceland, where the banking system collapsed, happiness levels stayed high.

  • That's because the social capital - or networks of social relationships - is strong.

  • In high social capital region, a disaster happens, everybody comes together and works

  • together and works to put things right again.

  • The happy countries are the ones that don't play the blame game.

  • They say, OK, this is a problem, let's see what we can do all of us.

  • Of course, not all citizens have the luxury of adopting this mindset.

  • In other countries around the world, residents are struggling with corrupt governments, weather-related

  • crises, and poverty.

  • And just because a country makes it onto theHappiest countrieslist, doesn't mean

  • they're free of problems or criticism.

  • For example, the Nordic countries have been among those witnessing a rise of far-right

  • political parties and nationalist anti-immigrant sentiment after the European migrant crisis

  • began in 2015.

  • This includes crackdowns on immigration policies and refugees already living in those countries.

  • As discontent over immigration increases, will these countries see an impact on the

  • happiness of not just their citizens, but those

  • who are coming to live there?

Let's talk about happiness.

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世界で最も幸せな国。説明されています。 (Happiest Countries In The World: Explained | NowThis World)

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    Christina Yang に公開 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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