Most of us would say that it’s easier to be cheerful when the sun is out, so you might expect that Europe’s happiest people would live in the south of the continent where rain is rare and temperatures remain in the double-digits year-round. The truth, however, is the exact opposite, a new study has found.
Menabrea – yes, the beer company – has been doing some research into the European countries where joy, pleasure and connection aren’t hard to come by; something they’re calling ‘Gross Domestic Pleasure’. They’ve given each nation a happiness rating out of 100 based on a survey across 12 nations in the continent. Once the numbers were crunched, it was Sweden that came out on top.
Sweden tops list of Europe’s top countries for enjoying life’s pleasures
It won’t come as much of a surprise that a Scandinavian country has topped a life satisfaction chart; they pretty much always do. However Sweden only had a narrow lead on the country in second place, which is slightly more unexpected.
With a score of 76 out of 100, Sweden was only one point ahead of Poland, which scored 75 overall. These numbers were based on percentages of people from each country who responded ‘yes’ to a series of questions about how likely they were to treat themselves ‘just because’.
Taking the bronze was Hungary, which achieved 72, so there wasn’t too much deviation between the top three spots.
There was a huge gap, however, between the happiest and most miserable place. The study found that Brits, who came dead last, are ‘desperately deficient in moments of joy and connection’. Only three percent of UK respondents allow themselves to have a little treat every day, which would explain why the country scored a disappointing 47 out of 100.
Menabrea recommends that Brits take a leaf out of the Scandi book and ‘reclaim the moments that matter’, by ‘slowing down, creating space for meaningful connections, and savouring life’s little pleasures’.
According to a psychologist Jo Hemmings, part of the problem for those in the UK is that they ‘don’t give themselves permission to pause and savour life,’ adding that ‘in contrast, communities in Spain and Italy thrive on connection, laughter, and shared moments, exactly the things our research shows Britain is missing’.
Read on for the complete list of the happiest countries in Europe that Menebrea surveyed, from cheeriest to most miserable, including their scores out of 100.
Europe’s top countries for enjoying pleasure and connection
- Sweden – 76/100
- Poland – 75/100
- Hungary – 72/100
- Spain – 69/100
- Portugal – 68/100
- Greece – 67/100
- Germany – 65/100
- France – 65/100
- Netherlands – 65/100
- Italy – 61/100
- Ireland – 59/100
- UK – 47/100
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