Satisfaction with Life Index - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Satisfaction with Life Index was created by Adrian G. White, an Analytic Social Psychologist at the University of Leicester

University of Leicester

The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....

, using data from a metastudy. It is an attempt to show life satisfaction

Life satisfaction

Life Satisfaction is the way a person perceives how his or her life has been and how they feel about where it is going in the future. It is a measure of well being. Life satisfaction has been measured in relation with economic standing, amount of education, experiences, and the location of people...

in different nations.

In this calculation, subjective well being correlates most strongly with health (.7), wealth (.6), and access to basic education (.6).

This is an example of directly measuring happiness

Happiness

Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources....

—asking people how happy they are—as an alternative to traditional measures of policy success such as GDP or GNP

GNP

Gross National Product is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the residents of a country...

. Some studies suggest that happiness can be measured effectively.

Satisfaction Index

The customer satisfaction index represents the overall satisfaction level of that customer as one number, usually as a percentage. Plotting this satisfaction index of the customer against a time scale shows exactly how well the the supplier is accomplishing the task of customer satisfaction over a period of time.

International Rankings 2006

Rank	Country	SWL	Rank	Country	SWL
1	Denmark	273.5	90	Japan	206.67
2	Switzerland	273.33	91	Yemen	206.67
3	Austria	260	92	Portugal	203.33
4	Iceland	260	93	Sri Lanka	203.33
5	The Bahamas	256.67	94	Tajikistan	203.33
6	Finland	256.67	95	Vietnam	203.33
7	Sweden	256.67	96	Iran	200
8	Bhutan	253.33	97	Comoros	196.67
9	Brunei	253.33	98	Independent State of Croatia	196.67
10	Canada	253.33	99	Poland	196.67
11	Republic of Ireland	253.33	100	Cape Verde	193.33
12	Luxembourg	253.33	101	Kazakhstan	193.33
13	Costa Rica	250	102	South Korea	193.33
14	Malta	250	103	Madagascar	193.33
15	Netherlands	250	104	Bangladesh	190
16	Antigua and Barbuda	246.67	105	Republic of the Congo	190
17	Malaysia	246.67	106	The Gambia	190
18	New Zealand	246.67	107	Hungary	190
19	Norway	246.67	108	Libya	190
20	Seychelles	246.67	109	South Africa	190
21	Saint Kitts and Nevis	246.67	110	Cambodia	186.67
22	United Arab Emirates	246.67	111	Ecuador	186.67
23	United States	246.67	112	Kenya	186.67
24	Vanuatu	246.67	113	Lebanon	186.67
25	Venezuela	246.67	114	Morocco	186.67
26	Australia	243.33	115	Peru	186.67
27	Barbados	243.33	116	Senegal	186.67
28	Belgium	243.33	117	Bolivia	183.33
29	Dominica	243.33	118	Haiti	183.33
30	Oman	243.33	119	Nepal	183.33
31	Saudi Arabia	243.33	120	Nigeria	183.33
32	Suriname	243.33	121	Tanzania	183.33
33	Bahrain	240	122	Benin	180
34	Colombia	240	123	Botswana	180
35	Germany	240	124	Guinea-Bissau	180
36	Guyana	240	125	India	180
37	Honduras	240	126	Laos	180
38	Kuwait	240	127	Mozambique	180
39	Panama	240	128	Palestinian National Authority	180
40	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	240	129	Slovakia	180
41	United Kingdom	236.67	130	Myanmar	176.67
42	Dominican Republic	233.33	131	Mali	176.67
43	Guatemala	233.33	132	Mauritania	176.67
44	Jamaica	233.33	133	Turkey	176.67
45	Qatar	233.33	134	Algeria	173.33
46	Spain	233.33	135	Equatorial Guinea	173.33
47	Saint Lucia	233.33	136	Kingdom of Romania	173.33
48	Belize	230	137	Bosnia and Herzegovina	170
49	Cyprus	230	138	Cameroon	170
50	Italy	230	139	Estonia	170
51	Mexico	230	140	Guinea	170
52	Samoa	230	141	Jordan	170
53	Singapore	230	142	Syria	170
54	Solomon Islands	230	143	Sierra Leone	166.67
55	Trinidad and Tobago	230	144	Azerbaijan	163.33
56	Argentina	226.67	145	Central African Republic	163.33
57	Fiji	223.33	146	Republic of Macedonia	163.33
58	Israel	223.33	147	Togo	163.33
59	Mongolia	223.33	148	Zambia	163.33
60	São Tomé and Príncipe	223.33	149	Angola	160
61	El Salvador	220	150	Djibouti	160
62	Early Modern France	220	151	Egypt	160
63	Hong Kong	220	152	Burkina Faso	156.67
64	Indonesia	220	153	Ethiopia	156.67
65	Kyrgyzstan	220	154	Latvia	156.67
66	Maldives	220	155	Lithuania	156.67
67	Slovenia	220	156	Uganda	156.67
68	Republic of China	220	157	Albania	153.33
69	East Timor	220	158	Malawi	153.33
70	Tonga	220	159	Chad	150
71	Chile	216.67	160	Côte d'Ivoire	150
72	Grenada	216.67	161	Niger	150
73	Mauritius	216.67	162	Eritrea	146.67
74	Namibia	216.67	163	Rwanda	146.67
75	Paraguay	216.67	164	Kingdom of Bulgaria	143.33
76	Thailand	216.67	165	Lesotho	143.33
77	Czech Republic	213.33	166	Pakistan	143.33
78	Philippines	213.33	167	Russia	143.33
79	Tunisia	213.33	168	Swaziland	140
80	Uzbekistan	213.33	169	Georgia (country)	136.67
81	Brazil	210	170	Belarus	133.33
82	Mainland China	210	171	Turkmenistan	133.33
83	Cuba	210	172	Armenia	123.33
84	Greece	210	173	Sudan	120
85	Nicaragua	210	174	Ukraine	120
86	Papua New Guinea	210	175	Moldova	116.67
87	Uruguay	210	176	Democratic Republic of the Congo	110
88	Gabon	206.67	177	Zimbabwe	110
89	Ghana	206.67	178	Burundi	100