[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"question:32:en-US":3},{"metadata":4,"sys":15,"fields":35},{"tags":5,"concepts":14},[6,11],{"sys":7},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":10},"Link","Tag","global",{"sys":12},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":13},"health",[],{"space":16,"id":20,"type":21,"createdAt":22,"updatedAt":23,"environment":24,"publishedVersion":28,"revision":29,"contentType":30,"locale":34},{"sys":17},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"Space","ghhpjogyw4x7","230533e75d32917d3d895acfb0b8be3c","Entry","2021-11-11T07:06:46.227Z","2025-03-27T13:02:37.038Z",{"sys":25},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},"master","Environment",264,148,{"sys":31},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":33},"ContentType","question","en-US",{"globalId":36,"answers":37,"answersAsImages":58,"wrongPercentage":94,"name":95,"questionText":96,"statistics":97,"veryWrongStatistics":116,"correctSentence":135,"youWereWrong":136,"youWereRight":137,"dataSourceShortText":138,"dataSourceLinkLongText":139,"extendedAnswerText":140,"headingVeryWrong":141,"youWereVeryWrong":136,"headingWrong":141},"32",[38,60,77],{"metadata":39,"sys":42,"fields":55},{"tags":40,"concepts":41},[],[],{"space":43,"id":45,"type":21,"createdAt":46,"updatedAt":47,"environment":48,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":52,"locale":34},{"sys":44},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"4d89222c6af61ff00cc8956f039d4f54","2021-11-11T06:52:02.728Z","2025-01-22T13:44:11.413Z",{"sys":49},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},140,134,{"sys":53},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},"answer",{"globalId":56,"correctAnswer":57,"isVeryWrong":58,"answerText":59},"32-a1",true,false,"Low-income countries",{"metadata":61,"sys":64,"fields":74},{"tags":62,"concepts":63},[],[],{"space":65,"id":67,"type":21,"createdAt":68,"updatedAt":69,"environment":70,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":72,"locale":34},{"sys":66},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"05c91398c4f00a262052de816e6a0bf1","2021-11-11T06:52:04.283Z","2025-01-22T13:44:11.448Z",{"sys":71},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":73},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":75,"correctAnswer":58,"isVeryWrong":58,"answerText":76},"32-a2","Middle-income countries",{"metadata":78,"sys":81,"fields":91},{"tags":79,"concepts":80},[],[],{"space":82,"id":84,"type":21,"createdAt":85,"updatedAt":86,"environment":87,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":89,"locale":34},{"sys":83},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"18778d68d4b4d604a81cac6a927289e1","2021-11-11T06:52:06.047Z","2025-01-22T13:44:11.483Z",{"sys":88},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":90},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":92,"correctAnswer":58,"isVeryWrong":57,"answerText":93},"32-a3","High-income countries",69,"In which countries are people on average least sat","In which countries are people on average least satisfied with their lives?",[98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115],"bra 0.53","fra 0.69","jpn 0.76","mex 0.58","rus 0.91","esp 0.71","mys 0.75","mar 0.7","zaf 0.69","ind 0.74","pak 0.68","nga 0.59","phl 0.66","prt 0.7671","usa 0.60","uk 0.63","deu 0.66","swe 0.71",[117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132,133,134],"bra 0.31","fra 0.37","jpn 0.32","mex 0.29","rus 0.47","esp 0.41","mys 0.31","mar 0.36","zaf 0.34","ind 0.22","pak 0.27","nga 0.28","phl 0.35","prt 0.41","usa 0.27","uk 0.3","deu 0.34","swe 0.39","On average, people in richer countries report higher life satisfaction than those in poorer countries.","There are unhappy people on all incomes but, generally, in richer countries there are fewer of them, on average.","They don’t realize that richer people on average are less unhappy.","Multiple sources","There are many ways to measure happiness and it is a difficult thing to measure because it is a temporary feeling and also somewhat subjective. Our World in Data has looked at multiple sources and measures[1]. \n\nPerhaps the best way is the “cantril ladder question”, where people are asked where they feel they are on a ladder from 0 to 10, where 10 is the best possible life and 0 is the worst possible life for them. This is used in many surveys, for example in the Gallup World Poll which is used in the World Happiness report[2]. \n\nA slightly different format is used in two other surveys. In the World Value Survey[3] people are asked if they are very happy, quite happy, not very happy, or not happy at all. In the European Commission’s Eurobarometer[4] people are asked if they are very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied or not at all satisfied with life. \n\nAsking about life satisfaction and happiness is not exactly the same thing, as self-reported happiness has both an experiential and emotional side. However, there is some crossover between the two types of questions and both give similar results in terms of people in richer countries having both higher life satisfaction and happiness. \n\n[1]  [Happiness and life satisfaction - Our World in Data](https:\u002F\u002Fourworldindata.org\u002Fhappiness-and-life-satisfaction#mis-perceptions-about-others-happiness)  \n[2]  [World Happiness Report](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gallup.com\u002Fanalytics\u002F349487\u002Fworld-happiness-report.aspx?utm_source=public_sector&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=world_happiness_report_march_3_non_download_03272025&utm_term=information&utm_content=download_report_cta_1&thank-you-report-form=1)  \n[3]  [The World Values Survey (WVS)](http:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldvaluessurvey.org\u002FWVSEVSjoint2017.jsp)  \n[4]  [European Commission – Eurobarometer Interactive](https:\u002F\u002Fec.europa.eu\u002Fcommfrontoffice\u002Fpublicopinion\u002Findex.cfm\u002FChart\u002FgetChart\u002FthemeKy\u002F1\u002FgroupKy\u002F1)","It’s very difficult to measure happiness. Psychologists have tested many different ways to phrase the questions and found that different individuals interpret “happiness” in different ways. The numbers are not exact, but still the pattern is clear in the two largest international studies: average happiness and well-being is higher in richer countries and among richer people. (If you doubt this, see the results from the international comparisons [here](https:\u002F\u002Fourworldindata.org\u002Fhappiness-and-life-satisfaction)).\n\n### Does this mean that average happiness increases if average income increases?\nNO! This does NOT mean that GDP growth leads to happiness! \nLook at [this graph](https:\u002F\u002Fourworldindata.org\u002Fgrapher\u002Fgdp-vs-happiness?time=2005..latest&country=BLR~BWA~EGY~IND~IRN~LAO~MYS~RWA~ZAF~TZA~TKM~VNM~ZMB) for example, showing some countries where the average income increased over the past 15 years, while the average happiness went down. \n\n![Screenshot 2022-05-10 at 10.53.17](\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002Fghhpjogyw4x7\u002F56m7tYTe9KsrsdHswEGfUD\u002Fe05f36c762ef39ea0a11649041311dcb\u002FScreenshot_2022-05-10_at_10.53.17.png)\n\nIt’s often the case that average income increases because a small group of people get richer. That doesn’t make the rest of the population happier. Quite the opposite. If the majority experiences worsening living conditions, the average happiness declines. In other countries, the average income and happiness have increased at the same time.\n\n### Are you trying to say that rich people will get happier if they get richer?\nNO! This doesn’t mean that the average person in high-income countries will become less unhappy by getting richer. If you really want glasses but you can’t afford them, that keeps you unhappy. When you get your first pair of glasses, that will make you much happier, but a second pair won’t make you much happier. In high-income countries almost everyone who needs glasses has them already. A majority of citizens have all their basic human needs met, like: food, housing, healthcare, safety and glasses. When those needs are satisfied, having more of those physical things will not reduce unhappiness much.\n\n### Why are people in middle- and low-income countries less happy?\nThere are many circumstances that are very individual, but on a high level, many people still have many of their basic physical needs unsatisfied. That, and other circumstances like violence and lack of freedom, explain why poorer people are less satisfied with their lives, on average. But again, that is only an average. Some people manage to be extremely happy with very little material resources, and some are totally miserable even after becoming billionaires. In all societies there are enormous individual differences.\n\n### Why is it a problem that people are wrong about others’ happiness?\nIf you think that people are less happy in richer countries you won’t realize why billions of people on lower incomes are doing everything they can to get richer: they still have many basic needs that are unmet. You will realize this by looking at people’s homes across the world on all different income levels on [Dollar Street](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gapminder.org\u002Fdollar-street).\n\n### Why are people wrong about this?\nIn the media we often hear about the lives of celebrities with unimaginable amounts of money, and how they are not happy. The poor seldom get space to talk about their feelings. This leads to a skewed view of who is most unhappy.  \n\n### Resources\n[Our World in Data](https:\u002F\u002Fourworldindata.org\u002Fhappiness-and-life-satisfaction#the-link-across-countries)\n\n[World Happiness Report 2025](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gallup.com\u002Fanalytics\u002F349487\u002Fworld-happiness-report.aspx?utm_source=public_sector&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=world_happiness_report_march_3_non_download_03272025&utm_term=information&utm_content=download_report_cta_1&thank-you-report-form=1)\n\nVisit [homes of the poorest](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gapminder.org\u002Fdollar-street\u002F?max=60&topic=homes) to see what everyday life is like when you struggle to have your basic needs met on a daily basis. \n","Many rich are unhappy, but..."]