Consider the happiest country in the world. Are you thinking of somewhere in Scandinavia? Well, a new study has brought to light something that may have been overlooked. They are actually the happiest people in the world, but they are often not included in rankings.
In global happiness rankings, such as the World Happiness Report (WHR), researchers typically note a correlation between high levels of life satisfaction and high incomes. However, these rankings often fail to differentiate between small indigenous groups and the overall population of a nation. In some of these communities, money has a minimal impact on daily life and livelihoods.
A new paper suggests that not all happiness is tied to money. In fact, it turns out that some low-income societies, particularly those that rely on nature rather than money, exhibit significantly higher life satisfaction and may even be some of the happiest people in the world.
“The frequently observed strong correlation between income and life satisfaction is not universal and proves that the wealth generated by developed economies is not fundamentally necessary for humans to live happy lives.” – Professor Victoria Reyes Garcia, senior author of the study
Who is the happiest person in the world?
Although not conducted by the same research institute as WHR, this new study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and measured happiness in a similar way. The WHR asks respondents to imagine a ladder with 10 being the best life and 0 being the worst, and then evaluate their life on that scale.
In this study, researchers translated the question into local languages: “Taking all aspects into consideration, how satisfied are you with your life on a scale of 0 to 10?”
The research team collected responses from 2,966 people from 19 indigenous and local communities around the world. Only 64 percent of households surveyed in these communities had any cash income.
These 19 communities had an average score of 6.8, with the lowest score being 5.1. However, four of these communities scored above 8/10 and, if included in the WHR, these small societies would be among the happiest people in the world. In 2023, WHR found that the countries with the highest scores were Finland (7.8), Denmark (7.6), and Iceland (7.5).
The highest scores were reported in Latin America, despite many of these societies having suffered from histories of marginalization and oppression, according to the authors.
Researchers say the findings are positive news for sustainability in the face of climate change, as this research suggests that people can achieve high levels of happiness without the need for resource-intensive economic growth.
They encourage future research to examine specific factors that influence well-being in societies where money is not central, such as family and social support, spirituality, and connection to the natural world.
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Source: www.sciencefocus.com
