6 Most Important Factors affecting your Happiness from research done over 10 years in 154 countries!
I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with John Helliwell, one of the co-editors of the World Happiness Report, on my Success Engineering podcast (S7E7).
He is one of the first economists to research happiness and its effect on GDP. This year actually marked the tenth anniversary of the World Happiness Report, which contains a mindboggling amount of research on genetics, social media, and even COVID's impact on happiness and well-being worldwide.
If you want to know what ten years of research spanning over 154 countries actually says about what it takes to be happier, then I highly recommend checking out the report here.
In all that research, six factors consistently and reliably account for about 75% of the difference in life evaluations and happiness levels around the world.
6 Most Important Factors Affecting the Happiness of the World
Income per capita
Healthy life expectancy
Social connections - having someone to count on in times of trouble
Freedom - a sense of freedom to be able to make life choices
Corruption - Ability to trust in government, and industries in a country
Generosity - donating to charity and volunteering
Yes, money does help us be happier up to a certain point (more on that later).
Countries with access to quality medical facilities, generous solid support networks, trust in the government and companies, a sense of freedom, and opportunities to create the life you want consistently score higher on happiness levels.
Want to know how your country stacks up?
Check it out here!
World Happiness Report Country Rankings
Which factors did you expect, and which ones surprised you?
Which factors would you be curious to learn more about and how they affect our happiness?
Drop in the comments below :)