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Denmark no longer the world’s happiest country
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September 23rd, 2014
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This article is more than 11 years old.
Whining youngsters push the little kingdom down the list to number three
Thanks to a malaise among the young, Denmark has slipped in the rankings of the world’s happiest countries.
According to a new Gallup poll, only 24 percent of respondents under 45 say they are thriving socially, while 34 percent of those over 45 say their social lives are solid.
Losing touch with the community
Over half of the respondents over 45 say they feel connected to their community, while only 43 percent of those under 45 feel like they are part of the community as a whole.
“If you look at the social aspects, the younger generation is not connected to their local community the way that older people are,” Rasmus Ole Rasmussen, an associate professor of generation research at Roskilde University, told Metroxpress.
“Young people have fewer close personal friends, and the older generation is better at maintaining relationships they made when they were younger.”
Maybe it's those hats
The latest Gallup report puts Panama at the top of the world’s happiest country list, with Costa Rica second.
Gallup examines five categories: community, social connections, meaningfulness, economic well-being and physical well-being.
Panama ranked first in every category except economic well-being. Denmark ranked fifth for meaningfulness, third for economic well-being and fourth for community. It was outside the top ten for physical well-being and social connections.
READ MORE: Danes are the world's happiest … seriously
Syria the unhappiest
The study showed that 40 percent of Danes feel they are doing well in at least three out of the five categories measured.
Syria is the most unhappy country in the world, according to the study.
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