Wealthiest countries at bottom of list of happiest societies

The Beatles told us that money can't buy love but it takes an economist to tell us it can't buy happiness.

A new index of well-being shows that the world's wealthiest countries do very badly when it comes to true contentment.

The index attempts to measure how well countries use their resources to deliver improved livelihoods and satisfaction. It finds that true happiness can be found in the Pacific island of Vanuatu.

By contrast the Group of Eight (G8) rich nations, whose leaders for their annual summit in St Petersburg this weekend, languish near the bottom of the list.

The host, Russia, comes 172nd out of 178, followed by the United States at 150 and France and 128. The UK comes in 108th - just below Libya but above Laos.

The list appears in a "happy planet index" published by the UK-based New Economics Foundation that attempts to log the progress of nations based on the amount of the Earth's resources they use on the one hand, and the length and happiness of people's lives on the other.

The NEF has taken official figures on life expectancy and multiplied it by an index based on surveys of people's happiness in various countries.

The combined figure for life length and satisfaction is then divided by the country's "ecological footprint" - a measure of the amount of land required to sustain the population and absorb its energy consumption.

As a result the countries that have historically been beset with widespread poverty and disease languish at the very bottom of the list.

Zimbabwe, where the population is currently coping with inflation above 1,200 per cent, has a life expectancy of 37 years and one of the lowest readings for satisfaction, is the unhappiest country. Its near neighbours Swaziland, Burundi and Congo and not far ahead.

But for the rich countries it is the ecological harm they inflict that offsets any material happiness.

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates (154th) has the heaviest ecological footprint, followed by the US.

At the other extreme Vanuatu, an archipelago of 80 islands in the western pacific inhabited by less than 250,000 people, has a tiny ecological footprint, reasonable longevity and high life satisfaction - perhaps linked to its unspoilt coastlines and unique rainforests.

The NEF research finds that island nations - along with Latin American countries - do particularly well in the index.

"They have higher life satisfaction, high life expectancy and marginally lower footprints than other states yet incomes are roughly equal to the world average," the report says. Even within regions, islands do well. Malta tops the western world and comes in 40th in the global league table. The top five nations in Africa and the top two in Asia are all islands."

"Perhaps a more acute awareness of environmental limits has sometimes helped their societies to bond better and to adapt to get more from less," says Andrew Simms, the NEF's policy director.

"Combined with the enhanced well-being that stems from close contact with nature, the world as a whole stands to learn much from the experience of islands."

One set of islands that does come out well is the UK. Its "footprint" is 5.4 hectares of the world's land per person needed to sustain the population compared with a global average of 2.2. The picture is even worse in the prosperous South East that takes up 6.3 hectares.

Not that the use of resources is translated into happiness. Britons have a shorter life expectancy than the Italians and the Scandinavians and less happy lives than the Dutch and the Austrians.

One of the more surprising results is that the high ratings for Latin and Central American countries, particularly Columbia that comes in second place thanks to the Colombians' long and happy lives and relatively low environmental impact.

Mr Simmons acknowledges that the findings will run counter to western images of gun-toting drug dealers and gang violence.

"We are very much trapped in a cliche about Colombia," he said. "It does have drugs and conflict but the vast majority of people won't come into contact with either. Urban life is complex and rich in the way that it is in cities anywhere in the world."

The NEF also defends its attempt to measure happiness, saying that is a long and respectable history within academic economics.

A paper published by three US academics last year found that self-reported happiness had a positive association with health outcomes such as strokes and cardio-vascular disease.

However the report is unlikely to be discussed at the G8 summit where the eight countries - with an average position of 114th - will discuss how to improve access to the world's energy supplies and stimulate greater access to trade in global resources.

- INDEPENDENT