Oh Snap! Belize is the 34th Happiest Country

The first ever United Nations World Happiness Report has been released and it may make you smile.  It shows that Belize is the thirty-fourth happiest country. The one hundred and fifty-eight page document explores various factors that influence the happiness of residents in over a hundred and fifty countries. Numerous surveying mechanisms were used during the research process, including one called the cantril ladder, which determined how the countries ranked. The cantril ladder is a survey done among citizens ages fifteen and older, who are asked to rate their level of satisfaction on a scale of zero to ten; zero being the worst possible life and ten being the best. Belize averaged around six point five in that exercise, placing it at number thirty-four between Singapore and Cyprus. Our neighbors, Mexico and Guatemala are ranked at twenty-four and thirty-seven respectively. Meanwhile, the happiness country, according to the report, is Denmark and the least happy is Togo at number one hundred and fifty-six.