How much happiness is there in the world? A cross-country study

This paper complements the burgeoning literature on country-specific studies of happiness by taking a global look at happiness and its determinants. In so doing, it makes two contributions. First, it presents indicators of happiness that are 'equity adjusted' and compares their values to those of unadjusted indicators. This comparison shows that countries with the lowest mean happiness scores have their unhappiness compounded when these means are adjusted to take account of the glaring inequality in their inter-personal distribution of happiness. Second, using data on nearly 113 000 respondents, drawn from 80 countries, it shows that people everywhere want broadly the same things in order to be happy: faith in a deity; a decent standard of living; a job; a good family and social life; a good neighbourhood in which to live; and, above all, good health.