It doesn’t really seem fair at all. Not only have we got the best chocolate, the best watches, the best railways, arguably the best scenery, the worlds best ski resort; Zermatt, we now top the happiness chart too. Maybe it’s all of the above combined that add up to make Switzerland a real life Shangri La and they certainly contribute but really it’s more scientific than that. To rate happiness in different countries, academics commissioned by the United Nations identified such variables as real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption. Besides money, the report emphasized fairness, honesty, trust and good health as determinants. No mention of chocolate, damn! 

The 2015 World Happiness Report is the third annual report seeking to quantify happiness as a means of influencing government policy. Switzerland takes over top spot from Denmark, ranked first in the last edition of the study first published by the UN in 2012, and now demoted to third. Iceland takes second spot, while Norway  ranked fourth followed by Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia making up an impressive top ten. Countries in Western Europe accounted for seven of the top ten happiest countries. The United States trails in 15th place with Britain just outside the top 20 at 21. Recession-hit Greece was the "biggest happiness loser," where data points to the erosion of trust, the report said.

Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and one of the editors, said the top 13 countries were the same a second year running although their order had shifted. They combined affluence with strong social support, and relatively honest and accountable governments, he told a news conference. "Countries below that top group fall short, either in income or in social support or in both," Sachs explained.  "One of our very strong recommendations is that we should be using measurements of happiness . . . to help guide the world during this period of the new sustainable development goals," Sachs said. "We want this to have an impact, to put it straight forwardly, on the deliberations on sustainable development because we think this really matters," Sachs said.
   
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel was singled out as "the most interesting world leader" in responding to happiness data. He praised her for initiating a grass roots project "of very great importance" that seeks to find out "what people want to see changing in order that their well-being might change."
   
Not surprisingly a positive outlook during childhood also lays the foundation for greater happiness during adulthood, the report found. "We must invest early on in the lives of our children so that they grow to become independent, productive and happy adults, contributing both socially and economically."