Home   >   Featured   >   Happiness decoded. What makes the Danes happier than the Japanese people?

Happiness decoded. What makes the Danes happier than the Japanese people?

By on August 8, 2016

Despite all the perks that come with living in Tokyo, (most livable city in the world as ranked by Monocle magazine), the World Happiness Index 2016 report ranks Japan as the 53rd happiest population.

Every year, thousands of people from 156 countries around the world are asked to answer  the World Happiness Index survey to measure their own level of happiness. The answers are based on six factors: GDP per capita, Social Support, Healthy Life Expectancy, Freedom to Make Life Choices, Generosity, and Perceptions of Corruption. The report is used by foreign governments to help craft the country’s policies.

shutterstock

The top 10 happiest countries in the world by order of life satisfaction scores are: Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden.

Other rich countries’s ranking:
United States 13th
Germany 16th
U.K. 23rd
France 32nd
Italy 50th
Japan 53rd (was 46th in 2015)

happiness-rankings

Japan with all its economic advantages has scored very low on life satisfaction among the richest countries in the world. How did it come to this? Let’s compare Denmark and Japan.

Japan has a low fertility rate problem – but so is Denmark. Its low birth rate has been in steady decline since 1989.

When it comes to tax rates, the Japanese are taxed on income less than the Danes who pay 55.6%. It stands to reason that the less disposable income for the Danes, the less likely they are to afford leisure and entertainment.

On health care system, both countries’ health insurance covers most illnesses.

The Japanese are known to be world’s greatest savers. An unmarried person in his/her 60s has an average ¥23 million in financial assets. A family has ¥25 million stashed away for retirement. In comparison, 17% of Denmark’s population do not save for retirement according to the TNS Gallup poll for Nordea Bank.

How does that make the Danes any happier than the Japanese?

According to the Scientists at the University of Warwick, “security” has nothing to do with it.  It’s “genetics.” The study claims that the Danes and any one with DNA closer to them are happier than those who are distant. The research was published by the German economic research institute IZA.

About Marlow Hauser

Marlow Hauser is a full-time data scientist, part-time writer, trailing spouse and mother of two. She has a PhD in Psychology and writes about education and food.