A recent Gallup analysis of 2010 well-being polls finds vast differences between countries in terms of how many citizens rate themselves as thriving. Below are the countries were the majority of people say they're doing well, along with the percent of people who say they're thriving.
1. Denmark – 72 percent
2. Sweden – 69 percent
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3. Canada – 69 percent
4. Australia – 65 percent
5. Finland – 64 percent
6. Venezuela – 64 percent
7. Israel – 63 percent
8. New Zealand – 63 percent
9. Netherlands – 62 percent
10. Ireland – 62 percent
11. Panama – 61 percent
12. United States – 59 percent
13. Austria – 58 percent
14. Costa Rica – 58 percent
15. Brazil – 57 percent
16. United Arab Emirates – 55 percent
17. United Kingdom – 54 percent
18. Qatar – 53 percent
19. Mexico – 52 percent
A total of 67 countries had less than a quarter of residents report that they were thriving, including Iraq at 13 percent, India at 17 percent and Libya at 14 percent (the surveys were taken before the unrest in Libya began). Here are the twenty lowest-scoring nations, from most to least happy:
20. Cameroon – 9 percent
19. Bulgaria – 9 percent
18. Sudan – 9 percent
17. Morocco – 9 percent
16. Uganda – 8 percent
15. Liberia – 8 percent
14. Senegal – 6 percent
13. Kenya – 6 percent
12. Botswana – 5 percent
11. Sri Lanka – 5 percent
10. Comoros – 4 percent
9. Mali – 4 percent
8. Tanzania – 4 percent
7. Tajikistan – 3 percent
6. Niger – 3 percent
5. Cambodia – 3 percent
4. Burkina Faso – 3 percent
3. Haiti – 2 percent
2. Central African Republic – 2 percent
1. Chad – 1 percent
You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
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