A couple of weeks ago I reported on the Happy Planet Index, which put Vanuatu at the top as the Happiest Country. However, the name is a little misleading -- it's not just about happiness; it's about human well-being and economic impact. According to the just-released World Map of Happiness, Denmark is actually the happiest place on earth -- according to the reports of its inhabitants. And according to this survey of 80,000 people around the globe, a nation's level of happiness is most closely associated with health, followed by wealth and education.

On this map, the U.S. is 23rd in the world (it was 150th in the HPI -- not surprising when you consider its very high levels of consumption). The U.K. is 41st (compared to 108th). And my own country of New Zealand was 18th (compared to 94th).

And while we're on the subject of happiness ... I just read a review of a new book on the subject, which I must look out for. It's called The Happiness Hypothesis, by Jonathan Haidt. According to the author's theory, emotion is simply the expression of the interaction between our automatic processes (which can do a frightening amount -- we don't need higher-order cognitive processes to live perfectly effective animal lives) and those processes that we control. Happy people are those in whom the interaction is smooth; the two work together in relative harmony.

It's certainly an intriguing theory, and I look forward to reading more about it.