Ask any Israeli relaxing on the beach at Eilat or eating at an ocean view restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel is one of the best places in the world to live, work and play. Now a Forbes Gallup poll confirms what all Israelis and anyone who has traveled to Israel already know.
Forbes said the richest countries were by and large the happiest. Scandinavian countries dominated the list, with Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands taking all top five spots. African nations took up most of the bottom, with Sierra Leone, Cambodia (not African), Comoros, Buriundi, and Togo ranking as the unhappiest countries on earth.
Israel far outstripped its neighbors in happiness, with Jordan ranking 52, Lebanon 73, Egypt and Syria 115. The Palestinian Territories were 88 on the list.
The US ranked number 14 on the list, ahead of Britain, 17. Iran came in at the middle, with 81. War-torn Iraq ranked 110, and Afghanistan 115.
The four-year survey asked thousands of respondents in the 155 countries to give a "life evaluation" score between one and ten, and cataloged their daily feelings to decide what percentage of people in each country were "thriving, struggling, or suffering."
Despite all the challenges that Israel faces, we still rank among one of the top countries in the world. Not just in terms of happiness, but also in terms of the strength of our economy, the number of start-ups that we produce and the various advancements we develop in the fields of medicine, technology and the environment.
In what other areas do you think Israel ranks in the top 10?
