Happiest Country in the World

A friend sent me a link about Norwegian, a budget airlines opening a new route from London Gatwick to Singapore for £150 on a Boring 787 12hrs non-stop.

It set me thinking about Norway listed as happiest country 2017 by the UN. Many on the list took me by surprise. Israel, Iceland and Ireland.

I have not been to Norway. The only thing I recall about Norway is a friend whose husband was in the shipping line told me about their reluctance to move to Oslo because everything is so much more expensive than Singapore!

But I have been to Copenhagen, Denmark to learn about their workplace practices. Denmark is top 5 in happiness 4 years in a row.

Japan, on the other hand, is #51. How can that be? I enjoy visiting Japan. I follow a blogger who brought her two toddler sons to Hokkaido twice a year. 10 times.

But Israel takes the cake. When we read about Arab-Israeli conflicts, how can Israel rank themselves #11 for several years running. The Times of Israel seem to have the same surprise revealing that a survey by Musa Israeli in collaboration with the Education Ministry “found that 27 percent of Israeli Jews would leave the country if given the opportunity.

Among secular Israelis it was 36%. The religious Jews least likely to depart the country at just 7%.”

Singapore is #26. Not surprising. Complaining is our national sport. But we are highest in happiness in Asia. So who is complaining? Despite being the most expensive country in the world.

“Despite the banking collapse in the two countries Iceland and Ireland, the happiness of these nations was less affected than expected. 99 percent report having someone to count on in times of trouble is the highest in Iceland. http://icelandreview.com/news/2017/03/20/icelanders-are-worlds-third-happiest

Of course the usual suspects, what is in the basket of survey, how were the questions phrased?