Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Norway, Denmark Iceland Switzerland - full list of world's happiest countries ..
http://www.bestcurrentaffairs.com/worlds-happiest-country/

Sorry that one won't c/p, it's the full list though.

2012 - "Happy country rankings: 1. Denmark "

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These are the 15 happiest countries in the world

Karen Gilchrist | @_karengilchrist
Monday, 20 Mar 2017 | 5:34 AM ET CNBC.com

VIDEO: .. Norwegians are a whole lot happier than Americans, according to a new report
Monday, 20 Mar 2017 | 8:43 AM ET | 00:42

Forget buying that new car, opt for a scarf and gloves and head to Norway if you want to achieve true happiness, a new report suggests.

Renowned for its good public services and political stability, Norway can now also claim pole position as the happiest country on earth, having risen in the ranks to surpass Denmark and claim first place in this year's World Happiness Report.

The study, which measures social factors alongside economic data, points to the limitations of financial factors in achieving happiness. Therefore, Norway vaulted ahead despite its economy being hit by the plummeting oil price, meanwhile happiness in the U.S. continues to wane despite incomes increasing.

"This report gives evidence that happiness is a result of creating strong social foundations. It's time to build social trust and healthy lives, not guns or walls. Let's hold our leaders to this fact," said Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which produced the report in association with the United Nations.

Norway sped ahead from fourth place last year to steal the top spot in the annual rankings, which combine economic, health and polling data on approximately 3,000 respondents in each of more than 150 countries. It is joined in the top five by fellow Nordic states Denmark, Iceland, Finland and central Europe's Switzerland, which averaged a comparable happiness level of 7.5 out of 10.

The Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden were also placed in the top 10.

Norway (7.53)
Denmark (7.52)
Iceland (7.50)
Switzerland (7.49)
Finland (7.46)
Netherlands (7.37)
Canada (7.31)
New Zealand (7.31)
Australia (7.28)
Sweden (7.28)
Israel (7.21)
Costa Rica (7.07)
Austria (7.0)
U.S. (6.99)
Ireland (6.97)

The U.S.'s happiness has slipped over the past year, however, the report suggests. Despite rising wages, overall happiness has fallen from 13th position globally to 14th, pointing to a need for a more comprehensive approach from government, the report suggests.

"The predominant political discourse in the United States is aimed at raising economic growth, with the goal of restoring the 'American dream' and the happiness that is supposed to accompany it. But the data show conclusively that this is the wrong approach," said Sachs, in a section of the report entitled "Restoring American Happiness".

Income per person has increased roughly three times since 1960, but measured happiness has not risen – indeed, it has dipped over the past decade from 7.5 out of 10, to 6.8 out of 10.

"The United States can and should raise happiness by addressing America's multi-faceted social crisis— rising inequality, corruption, isolation, and distrust—rather than focusing exclusively or even mainly on economic growth, especially since the concrete proposals along these lines would exacerbate rather than ameliorate the deepening social crisis."

The comments follow a recent speech by Helen Clark, head of the UN Development Program (UNDP), in which she spoke out against the "tyranny of GDP (gross domestic product)", arguing that quality of growth is more important.

The U.S. ranked just ahead of Ireland, which took 15th place, and was followed by Germany in 16th, the U.K. in 19th and France in 31st.

However, economic factors remain a certain contributor to achieving social cohesion and overall happiness, the report finds. The ten bottom spots were taken by some of the world's poorest countries, with happiness levels averaging approximately 3 out of ten.

These included Yemen, South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Rwanda, Syria, Tanzania, Burundi and Central African Republic.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/20/norway-ranked-worlds-happiest-country-as-the-us-gets-sadder.html

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World Happiness Report 2017

The first World Happiness Report was published in April, 2012, in support of the UN High Level Meeting on happiness and well-being. Since then the world has come a long way. Increasingly, happiness is considered to be the proper measure of social progress and the goal of public policy. In June 2016 the OECD committed itself “to redefine the growth narrative to put people’s well-being at the center of governments’ efforts”. In February 2017, the United Arab Emirates held a full-day World Happiness meeting, as part of the World Government Summit. Now on World Happiness Day, March 20th, we launch the World Happiness Report 2017, once again back at the United Nations, again published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and now supported by a generous three-year grant from the Ernesto Illy Foundation. Some highlights are as follows.

Norway tops the global happiness rankings for 2017
http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/

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Wonder how that fits with a gender equality ranking?

Best and Worst Countries for Women, the Full List
Newsweek/The Daily Beast analyzed data 165 countries to determine which countries are the best for women.

The Daily Beast
09.20.11 9:20 AM ET

FULL LIST (PDF)

1, Iceland Overall score (out of 100): 100.0Justice: 100.0Health: 90.5Education: 96.7Economics: 88.0Politics: 92.8

2, Sweden Overall score (out of 100): 99.2Justice: 90.8Health: 94.8Education: 95.5Economics: 90.3Politics: 93.1

3, Canada Overall score (out of 100): 96.6Justice: 100.0Health: 92.7Education: 92.0Economics: 91.0Politics: 66.9

4, Denmark Overall score (out of 100): 95.3Justice: 86.1Health: 94.9Education: 97.6Economics: 88.5Politics: 78.4

5, Finland Overall score (out of 100): 92.8Justice: 80.2Health: 91.4Education: 91.3Economics: 86.8Politics: 100.0

6, Switzerland Overall score (out of 100): 91.9Justice: 87.9Health: 94.4Education: 97.3Economics: 82.6Politics: 74.6

7, Norway Overall score (out of 100): 91.3Justice: 79.3Health: 100.0Education: 74.0Economics: 93.5Politics: 93.9

8, United States of America Overall score (out of 100): 89.8Justice: 82.9Health: 92.8Education: 97.3Economics: 83.9Politics: 68.6

9, Australia Overall score (out of 100): 88.2Justice: 80.7Health: 93.3Education: 93.9Economics: 85.3Politics: 65.1

10, Netherlands Overall score (out of 100): 87.7 Justice: 74.0Health: 95.0Education: 99.0Economics: 83.0Politics: 68.4

11, New Zealand Overall score (out of 100): 87.2Justice: 72.0Health: 87.5Education: 93.3Economics: 87.5Politics: 78.2

12, France Overall score (out of 100): 87.2Justice: 100.0Health: 94.7Education: 95.0Economics: 72.3Politics: 62.0
http://www.thedailybeast.com/best-and-worst-countries-for-women-the-full-list

USA 14. to 8. That's good. As expected general correlation up the top.

See also, also 2012

Society: The only way is Finland
Our politicians seem to be obsessed with the place, but what makes it so great? Equality, education – and Angry Birds
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=75979762