If they asked you directly what do you think is the happiest place in the world , what would you answer? People are supposed to be happiest in warm, tropical places, where they are surrounded every day by the beauty of the blue sea. But we are somewhat wrong and the real answer might surprise you. The happiest country on earth is actually Denmark .
This is the result of a curious poll conducted by Gallup Why are Danes so happy? Although the Gallup poll did not specifically address people’s satisfaction reasons, there are a couple of unique things about Denmark that could help explain its high happiness scores. On the one hand, Denmark has a relatively high GDP (gross domestic product). In 2009, GDP was $ 68,000, about $ 20,000 higher than the per capita GDP of the United States.
Furthermore, at the time of the survey, Denmark had an unemployment rate of just 2%. Great economic and financial security could help reduce stress levels, which could, in turn, make the population happier. There are, of course, cultural factors involved in overall happiness.
Pessimistic cultures may answer "no" to questions about happiness in general, but the results can be misleading. Researchers have found that the Danes actually have a rather "cloudy" outlook and generally low expectations about future hopes. Kaare Christensen suggests that people could report higher levels of happiness in Denmark because reality tends to overshadow their low expectations.