In a study published in April in the journal Politics and Policy, researchers ranked 15 industrialized democracies based on the life satisfaction of their citizens.
Using four measures of government size, seen below, the researchers found that countries with larger governments also have the happiest citizens.
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| Countries, from most to least satisfied | Tax revenue as percent of GDP | Government consumption as percent of real per capita GDP | Average percent of earnings replaced by unemployment benefits | Social welfare expenditures as a percent of GDP |
| 1. Norway | 43.5 | 18.4 | 39 | 21.6 |
| 2. Switzerland | 29.2 | 8.8 | 33 | 20.3 |
| 3. Finland | 43.9 | 18.7 | 35 | 26.1 |
| 4. Canada | 33.4 | 13.2 | 12 | 16.5 |
| 5. Sweden | 49.5 | 22.3 | 39 | 29.4 |
| 6. The Netherlands | 38.8 | 20.8 | 35 | 20.9 |
| 7. Great Britain | 36.3 | 17.4 | 12 | 21.3 |
| 8. Spain | 35.8 | 18.1 | 36 | 21.2 |
| 9. Australia | 30.8 | 15.7 | 22 | 17.1 |
| 10. United States | 27.3 | 11.2 | 13 | 15.9 |
| 11. Japan | 27.3 | 16.3 | 8 | 18.6 |
| 12. Germany | 34.8 | 15.6 | 24 | 26.7 |
| 13. Italy | 40.9 | 15.2 | 33 | 25 |
| 14. France | 43.9 | 20.5 | 39 | 29.2 |
| 15. South Korea | 25.5 | 10.4 | 9 | 6.9 |
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