Happiness in Diverse Cultures

Posted by admin in Culture, Featured | 34 comments

Happiness is a part of everyone’s lives, no matter where in the world we were born or into what fortunate (or unfortunate) circumstances.  It is deeply entrenched in human nature to seek and desire true happiness, and studies have shown that even people living in the most deplorable conditions are capable in finding moments of happiness in the face of desperate situations.  But what about the countries that we all assume enjoy such wealth that none of their citizens must ever know true suffering?  Abroad, it is often the perception that Americans are all very rich, and that even her poorest citizens do not suffer from want of any kind.  Of course, this is not true, anymore than it is true that all people in starving parts of Africa are constantly unable to get meals or to enjoy clean and safe drinking water (although this is probably truer than other global misconceptions as a general rule.)

To get a little insight into the happiness levels of a sampling of cultures from around the world, this infographic is greatly helpful.  The large, yellow smiley faces below illustrate the reported happiness levels of people from their respective countries over a period of years, along with some factors that could very well have attributed to the happier or less happy times.  Click to enlarge the image, and don’t forget to smile: