AlQa'dah 3, 1434, Sep 9, 2013, SPA -- Denmark and Norway were on top of a United Nations report measuring well-being and happiness, released Monday and cited by AP. The report, two weeks before the UN General Assembly, was compiled for the second time to urge global leaders to include well-being as a measure of development in the upcoming post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. The ranking compiled by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network used data on GDP per capita and healthy life expectancy, and factors such as having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption to quantify happiness levels. "There is now a rising worldwide demand that policy be more closely aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their well-being," said Jeffery Sachs, director of the project. "The World Happiness Report 2013 offers rich evidence that the systematic measurement and analysis of happiness can teach us a lot about ways to improve the world's well-being and sustainable development." Other nations topping the list included Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden. The United States ranked 17, behind countries such as Mexico and Panama. The least happy counties included Togo, which was on the bottom of the list, Benin, the Central African Republic and Burundi. Happiness as a measure of development has gained momentum at the UN recently, as the organization observed the first International Day of Happiness in March. The initiative came as part of a resolution passed in 2012 sponsored by the Kingdom of Bhutan recognizing happiness as a universal goal and as a guiding principle for public policies. It said instead of focusing solely on financial issues when public policy is drafted, happiness also should be taken into account.
