Israel is the 11th-happiest country in the world, according to the 2014 annual World Happiness Report released on Friday.
This report is published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), an initiative of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched in 2012 that promotes sustainable development on local, national, and global scales.
The happiness scale was compiled using several factors, including GDP per capita, life expectancy, freedom of choice, generosity, perceptions of corruption, and social support.
Leading experts across fields – economics, psychology, survey analysis, national statistics, health, public policy and more – describe how measurements of well-being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations.
Among 158 countries surveyed, Israel beat out several Western countries such as the United States (15), Luxembourg (17), Ireland (18), Belgium (19), United Kingdom (21), Germany (26), and France (29).
Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Canada were identified as the countries with the highest levels of happiness in the world.
Most of Israel’s neighbors fared poorly in the rankings, including the Palestinian territories (108), Egypt (135), Jordan (85), and Lebanon (103). The unhappiest countries in the world were Afghanistan, Rwanda, Benin, Syria, Burundi, and Togo.
When the publication first launched in 2012, Israel was ranked at number 14 our of 156 countries.
The goal of the report is to guide progress toward social, economic and environmental development. It contains analysis from leading experts in the fields of economics, neuroscience, national statistics, and describes how measurements of subjective well-being can be used effectively to assess national progress
“As the science of happiness advances, we are getting to the heart of what factors define quality of life for citizens,” said Professor John F. Helliwell of the University of British Columbia and editor of the report. “We are encouraged that more and more governments around the world are listening and responding with policies that put well-being first. Countries with strong social and institutional capital not only support greater well-being, but are more resilient to social and economic crises,” he said.