Subjective Wellbeing Around the World

Summary

Chapter 5 examines subjective well-being around the world. It argues that the most informative comparisons are not small differences among the happiest countries, such as Finland, Denmark, or other Scandinavian nations, but the large differences between countries near the top and bottom of the global distribution. These cross-national differences allow researchers to test whether subjective well-being is shaped by material living conditions, social institutions, culture, and historical change.

The chapter begins with the history of cross-national comparisons. Cantril’s ladder was first used in the 1960s to compare life evaluations across nations, and the Gallup World Poll has used the same basic measure since 2008 in more than 140 countries. Comparing countries measured in both periods suggests that average life evaluations have increased over time. This challenges strong claims that happiness is purely relative or that modern life has made people less happy than in the past. At the same time, changes vary across countries, showing that national well-being is not fixed and can shift with social, economic, and political conditions.

World maps of subjective well-being show clear geographic patterns. Scandinavia, Western Europe, Australia, and other wealthy countries tend to score high, whereas many African countries score low. These patterns make some simple explanations unlikely. Climate cannot explain high Scandinavian well-being because other high-ranking countries have very different climates. Romantic ideas that Eastern societies are generally happier than Western societies are also not supported by the data.

The strongest predictor of national differences in subjective well-being is purchasing power. Median income adjusted for purchasing power predicts average life evaluations very strongly, especially when income is analyzed on a logarithmic scale. The relationship is strongest at low income levels, where money helps meet basic needs such as food, shelter, health, and safety. However, the relationship does not disappear in affluent countries. Additional income still predicts higher life evaluation, although with diminishing returns. This directly challenges simple claims that money does not buy happiness.

At the same time, income does not explain everything. Some regions are happier or less happy than their income levels predict. South America and Scandinavia score higher than expected, whereas Arab countries, East Asia, and Eastern Europe score lower. These deviations suggest that culture, institutions, social relationships, response styles, and political conditions may also matter, although their effects are harder to isolate than the effect of income.

The chapter discusses East Asia as one example. East Asian countries often report lower life satisfaction than expected from their purchasing power. Some of this may reflect response styles, because East Asian respondents are more likely to choose moderate response options and less likely to use extreme ratings. Cultural norms about modesty, realism, and self-enhancement may also influence self-reported well-being. However, it remains unclear whether these patterns reflect reporting differences, real differences in experienced well-being, or both.

Latin America shows the opposite pattern: subjective well-being is often higher than income would predict. Some of this may also reflect response style, especially the tendency to use the top category on life-satisfaction scales. But measurement artifacts do not fully explain the pattern. Social support appears to be the most plausible substantive explanation. Latin American cultures may place especially strong emphasis on close relationships, family support, and social integration. Unpaid family work and remittances may also make material living conditions better than GDP alone suggests.

Scandinavian countries consistently rank near the top, but the difference between Scandinavia and other affluent Anglo countries is small. The chapter argues against overinterpreting a Scandinavian “secret.” Much of the small advantage appears related to higher financial satisfaction, possibly because of lower inequality, stronger welfare systems, and lower material aspirations. The key point is that Scandinavia scores high largely because it combines high purchasing power with strong social and institutional supports.

Arab countries report lower subjective well-being than expected from income. Financial dissatisfaction explains part of the gap, and lower perceived freedom explains a smaller part, but a substantial difference remains. Religion does not explain the lower scores; if anything, religiosity has a small positive association with well-being. The chapter also notes that life circumstances may have different implications in different cultures. For example, marriage appears more strongly related to well-being in Anglo countries than in Arab countries.

The chapter then turns to migration as stronger evidence for the importance of living conditions. Immigrants’ well-being tends to move closer to the average well-being of the country they move to than to that of their country of origin. Immigrants from poorer countries often show large gains after moving to countries such as Canada. This supports the conclusion that national differences in well-being are not just cultural or personality differences; living conditions matter. At the same time, some cultural patterns remain, because immigrants from Latin America and East Asia show some of the same relative patterns observed in their regions of origin.

Migration studies also show that integration matters. Immigrants who identify with Canada, either while maintaining their original identity or through assimilation, report higher well-being than those who remain separated from Canadian identity or feel marginalized. This suggests that migration improves well-being most when people gain access to better living conditions and also develop a sense of belonging in the new society.

The final sections argue that subjective well-being is not the only criterion for evaluating societies. Life expectancy also matters. A country where people are moderately happy for many decades may be preferable to one where people are very happy for a short life. The concept of happy life-years combines average well-being with life expectancy. Wealthier nations often do better on both dimensions because economic resources support health care, safety, and longer lives.

The chapter ends with sustainability. Modern high well-being often depends on resource-intensive lifestyles that may harm future generations. Subjective well-being research cannot solve this moral and political problem, but it can identify societies that achieve high well-being, long lives, and more sustainable living. Scandinavian countries currently do well on these dimensions, and Costa Rica offers a warmer example of relatively high well-being with lower resource use. The broader conclusion is that money matters greatly for well-being, especially through basic needs, but the best societies must also consider longevity, social conditions, and sustainability.