Where to Live a Long Happy Life

The best six countries in which to live a long happy life are Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, Sweden and Australia. If you live in one of these places, you can expect to have sixty or more ‘happy-years’ of life. ‘Happy-years’ are calculated by multiplying happiness levels by life expectancy.

Denmark, Switzerland and Austria have the happiest citizens, describing themselves as eight out of ten in satisfaction with their lives. Japanese citizens live longer than any other nation – almost 81 years on average – but have a low happiness score of six out of ten.

Top 25 Countries for Happy-Life Years

(happiness levels multiplied by life expectancy, 1995-2005)

• 63.9 Switzerland
• 62.7 Denmark
• 62.2 Iceland
• 61.0 Austria
• 60.8 Sweden
• 60.7 Australia
• 59.8 Canada, Finland
• 59.3 Norway
• 59.0 Luxembourg
• 58.7 Netherlands
• 58.3 Ireland
• 58.2 Malta
• 57.0 USA
• 56.5 Belgium
• 55.8 New Zealand
• 55.7 Germany
• 55.3 Mexico
• 55.2 Britain
• 54.2 Italy
• 54.1 Spain
• 53.7 Cyprus
• 53.0 Kuwait
• 52.9 Singapore
• 52.2 Israel

Top 25 Countries for Average Happiness

(satisfaction with life on a scale of one to ten, 1995-2005)

• 8.2 Denmark
• 8.1 Switzerland
• 8.0 Austria
• 7.8 Iceland
• 7.7 Australia, Finland, Sweden
• 7.6 Canada, Guatemala, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway
• 7.5 Malta, Netherlands
• 7.4 USA
• 7.3 Belgium
• 7.2 Germany, El Salvador, New Zealand
• 7.1 Britain, Honduras
• 7.0 Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
• 6.9 Italy, Spain, Cyprus

Top 25 Countries for Average Life Expectancy

(measured in years, 1995-2005)

• 80.8 Japan
• 79.5 Iceland
• 79.4 Sweden
• 79.2 Canada
• 79.0 Switzerland
• 78.9 Australia
• 78.6 Italy, France, Spain
• 78.5 Israel
• 78.4 Norway
• 78.1 Greece, Netherlands
• 78.0 Belgium, Cyprus
• 77.8 Austria, Malta
• 77.6 Britain, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore
• 77.4 Finland, Luxembourg
• 76.9 USA
• 76.6 Ireland

Sources:

• Photo: Switzerland by Francisco Antunes (cc)
• Report: Veenhoven, R., Happy Life Years in 95 nations 1995-2005, World Database of Happiness, Rank Report 2006-2b

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