Vanuatu Is World’s Happiest Country, Study Finds

Posted on Jul 12, 2006

From AFP/ Marc Le Chelard

A tribal chief sailing off the coast of Vanuatu. A study measuring people’s well-being and their impact on the environment reveals that the tiny South Pacific Ocean archipelago of Vanuatu is the happiest country on Earth.

The AP reports: “The tiny South Pacific Ocean archipelago of Vanuatu is the happiest country on Earth, according to a study published measuring people’s wellbeing and their impact on the environment.”

Zimbabwe came in last of the 178 ranked countries. The U.S. came in at a dismal 150th. Of the G8 industrial powers, Italy scored highest at 60th.

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AP:

The tiny South Pacific Ocean archipelago of Vanuatu is the happiest country on Earth, according to a study published measuring people’s wellbeing and their impact on the environment.

Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica and Panama complete the top five in the Happy Planet Index, compiled by the British think-tank New Economics Foundation (NEF).

The index combines life satisfaction, life expectancy and environmental footprint—the amount of land required to sustain the population and absorb its energy consumption.

Zimbabwe came bottom of the 178 countries ranked, below second-worst performer Swaziland, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine.

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