The 2016 report features the happiness score averaged over the years 2013–2015.
2013 report
The 2013 report features the happiness score averaged over the years 2010–2012.
Happiness of the young and old
Country rankings for the young and the old are quite different, and systematically so, underscoring the fact that convergence between the two halves of Europe has been driven mainly by the rising happiness of the young. Countries ranking highest for the old are generally countries with high overall rankings, but include several where the young have recently fared very poorly.[63]
Criticism
Metrics
Critics have pointed out the difference between evaluations and experiences of well-being.[64][65] For instance Colombia came 37th in the 2018 World Happiness Report rankings but first by daily emotional experience in Gallup's Positive Experience Index.[66] The inconsistencies in the results of different happiness measurement surveys have also been noted, for instance, a Pew survey of 43 countries in 2014 (which excluded most of Europe) had Mexico, Israel, and Venezuela finishing first, second and third.[67] Others point out that the variables of interest used by the World Happiness Report are more appropriate for measuring national-level rather than individual-level happiness.[68]
Methodology
The World Happiness Report's use of a single-item indicator of subjective well-being is different from more traditional Index approaches which use a range of indicators such as the United Nations' Human Development Index, the OECD Better Life Index of 2011, or the Social Progress Index of 2013. There has also been an ongoing debate regarding single-item and multi-item scales as measures of life satisfaction.[69]
The idea that subjective well-being can be captured by a survey has also been contested by economists, who have identified that people's assessments of their happiness can be affected by how, for example, their country's education system grades exams, and that survey questions on subjective well-being are affected by response styles.[70]
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↑Cramer, Maria (20 March 2020). "Smile? The Results from the 2020 World Happiness Report are in". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
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↑"Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development: resolution / adopted by the General Assembly". Archived from the original on 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
↑"Defining a New Economic Paradigm: The Report of the High-Level Meeting on Wellbeing and Happiness .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". sustainabledevelopment.un.org.
↑"2015 GNH Survey Report". Center for Bhutan Studies.
↑"Figure 2.1: Country Rankings by Life Evaluations"(PDF), World Happiness Report 2025, 2025, pp.17–19, ISBN978-1-7348080-8-7, retrieved 23 March 2025
↑"Figure 2.1: Country Rankings by Life Evaluations in 2021-2023"(PDF), World Happiness Report 2024, 2024, pp.15–17, ISBN978-1-7348080-7-0, retrieved 23 March 2024
↑Helliwell, J.; Layard, R.; Sachs, J. (2017). World Happiness Report 2017. New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network. ISBN978-0-9968513-5-0. Archived from the original on 2017-10-09. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
↑"World Happiness Report 2016 Update". UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network; Earth Institute (University of Columbia). pp.20–21–22. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 20 Mar 2016.
↑"Chapter 2: The Distribution of World Happiness", World Happiness Report 2016 Update(PDF), p. 4, para. 1, archived from the original(PDF) on 22 March 2016, retrieved 20 Mar 2016
↑"2016 Update Report download"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 20 Mar 2016.
↑2016 Table download, Figure2.2, archived from the original(XLS) on 23 March 2016, retrieved 20 Mar 2016
Mendes, Errol. [Statehood and Palestine for the purposes of Article 12(3) of the ICC Statute http://uclalawforum.com/media/background/gaza/2010-03-30_Mendes-Memo.pdf], 30 March 2010: "...the Palestinian State also meets the traditional criteria under the Montevideo Convention..." (p. 28); "...the fact that a majority of states have recognised Palestine as a State should easily fulfill the requisite state practice" (p. 33).
McKinney, Kathryn M. (1994). "The Legal Effects of the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles: Steps Toward Statehood for Palestine". Seattle University Law Review. 18 (93). Seattle University: 97. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-04-17: "It is possible, however, to argue for Palestinian statehood based on the constitutive theory".
McDonald, Avril (Spring 2009). "Operation Cast Lead: Drawing the Battle Lines of the Legal Dispute". Human Rights Brief. 25. Washington College of Law, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Retrieved 2011-04-17: "Whether one applies the criteria of statehood set out in the Montevideo Convention or the more widely accepted constitutive theory of statehood, Palestine might be considered a state."
↑"The happiest countries around the world". Euronews. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
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↑Dolan, Paul; etal. (August 20, 2016). "The Measure Matters: An Investigation of Evaluative and Experience-Based Measures of Wellbeing in Time Use Data". Social Indicators Research. 134 (1): 57–73. doi:10.1007/s11205-016-1429-8. PMC5599459. PMID28983145.
↑ Kushlev, Kostadin; et al. (2015年1月9日). 「高収入は日々の悲しみの減少と関連しているが、日々の幸福の増加とは関連していない」 . Social Psychological and Personality Science . 6 (5): 483– 489. doi : 10.1177/1948550614568161 . S2CID 147042924 .