Study: Latin Americans are world's happiest people

Children play in the water in Asuncion Bay, Paraguay, on Oct. 14, 2012. / AP Photo/Jorge Saenz

MEXICO CITY The world's happiest people aren't in Qatar, the richest country by most measures. They aren't in Japan, the nation with the highest life expectancy. Canada, with its chart-topping percentage of college graduates, doesn't make the top 10.

A poll released Wednesday of nearly 150,000 people around the world says seven of the world's 10 countries with the most upbeat attitudes are in Latin America.

Many of the seven do poorly in traditional measures of well-being, like Guatemala, a country torn by decades of civil war followed by waves of gang-driven criminality that give it one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Guatemala sits just above Iraq on the United Nations' Human Development Index, a composite of life expectancy, education and per capita income. But it ranks seventh in positive emotions.

"In Guatemala, it's a culture of friendly people who are always smiling," said Luz Castillo, a 30-year-old surfing instructor. "Despite all the problems that we're facing, we're surrounded by natural beauty that lets us get away from it all."

Gallup Inc. asked about 1,000 people in each of 148 countries last year if they were well-rested, had been treated with respect, smiled or laughed a lot, learned or did something interesting and felt feelings of enjoyment the previous day.

In Panama and Paraguay, 85 percent of those polled said yes to all five, putting those countries at the top of the list. They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

The people least likely to report positive emotions lived in Singapore, the wealthy and orderly city-state that ranks among the most developed in the world. Other wealthy countries also sat surprisingly low on the list. Germany and France tied with the poor African state of Somaliland for 47th place.

Prosperous nations can be deeply unhappy ones. And poverty-stricken ones are often awash in positivity, or at least a close approximation of it.

It's a paradox with serious implications for a relatively new and controversial field called happiness economics that seeks to improve government performance by adding people's perceptions of their satisfaction to traditional metrics such as life expectancy, per capita income and graduation rates.

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan famously measures policies by their impact on a concept called Gross National Happiness.

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced a national well-being program in 2010 as part of a pledge to improve Britons' lives in the wake of the global recession. A household survey sent to 200,000 Britons asks questions like "How satisfied are you with your life nowadays?"

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which unites 34 of the world's most advanced countries, recently created a Better Life Index allowing the public to compare countries based on quality of life in addition to material well-being.

Some experts say that's a dangerous path that could allow governments to use positive public perceptions as an excuse to ignore problems. As an example of the risks, some said, the Gallup poll may have been skewed by a Latin American cultural proclivity to avoid negative statements regardless of how one actually feels.

"My immediate reaction is that this influenced by cultural biases," said Eduardo Lora, who studied the statistical measurement of happiness as the former chief economist of the Inter-American Development Bank

"What the empirical literature says is that some cultures tend to respond to any type of question in a more positive way," said Lora, a native of Colombia, the 11th most-positive country.

For the nine least positive countries, some were not surprising, like Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Haiti. For others at the bottom, Armenia at the second lowest spot, Georgia and Lithuania, misery is something a little more ephemeral.

"Feeling unhappy is part of the national mentality here," said Agaron Adibekian, a sociologist in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. "Armenians like being mournful; there have been so many upheavals in the nation's history. The Americans keep their smiles on and avoid sharing their problems with others. And the Armenians feel ashamed about being successful."

The United States was No. 33 in positive outlook. Latin America's biggest economies, Mexico and Brazil, sat more than 20 places further down the list.

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[Choloton]

Im from The Most optimist Land of the world, since 2000 is posible to be happy in Panama because we Dont have any "american canal zone" the dictator Noriega who was The worst personality our history and he was a yanky creation, the Operation just cause was a brutal atack to the panamenian people and Not To the Noriegas soldier or hinself, these steps was very important for the panamenian happiness.
Escuelas de las Americas was a terror Organisation in our Land, you as proud american sended terror to Latinamerica, our happyness ist posible without the northamerican "development agency"=Manipulation slavery, polution. Without your sick presence latinamerica ist happyer, we dont need weapon, manipulation and control to be Happy.

[micmac666]

Siestas are key.

[TimeToRetire]

Must be all the drugs.

[Choloton]

All the drugs that you produce and consume!

[usunus]

The super rich Emir of tiny Qatar is spreading money all over the globe to buy influence of every kind.Could be he lobbied for the first place even in this dubious survey.

[johnlockesghost]

ASKAGAIN: I do not look down on Latin Americans. I do, however, look down on people, regardless of national origin, that enter the United States illegally. I also look down on the politicians and businessmen that profit by it.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

I can easily accept the findings. My wife is Hispanic and I'm fluent in Spanish and will say that I am more at ease with Hispanics in general than I am Americans because Hispanics tend to be happier, less arrogant, and more respectful and polite than many Americans.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

One of the main reasons I'm retiring to the south coast of Guatemala in a few years, I might add.....

[TimeToRetire]

I had my first taste of a predominately Hispanic population in Pixley, CA four years ago. The first week I was there, I had my entire laundry stolen out of the dryer while I went outside to use the phone. How do you say God Damn in Spanish?

[old_bard]

If they are all so happy, howcome they are bustin' down our doors to get up here for the last 35 to 40 years??????????

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

Happiness and opportunity are not one in the same thing.

[micmac666]

'Just coming home.

[rwsmith29456]

I think people who consider family above owning things and have an opportunity to make a living to provide for family but not be spoiled by riches are the happiest people.

[johnlockesghost]

If they were so happy, why do they leave their countries to sneak into ours?

[askagain]

johnlockesghost and Miffyseals - Perhaps you are both somewhat off base. Not all Latin Americans are poor, uneducated, unemployed, or trying to come to the United States. And not all Americans look down at Latin Americans. As to the American acquisition of Spanish and Mexican land, some of it became American from wars and some was purchased. And if you read the article, some of the world's happiest people don't live in prosperous countries. Perhaps there is more in life than materialism that makes some culture's happier than others.

[johnlockesghost]

Miffyseals: I won't stoop to your twisted level of verbal discourse, suffice it to say that you possess a sick and twisted mind jumping to an unwarranted conclusion without the tinniest bit of evidence to support it.

ASKAGAIN: I do not look sown on Latin Americans, but I do look down on people, regardless of their national origin, that want to enter my country illegally.