Stated preferences
Happiness data shows how different European countries are
By the DATA TEAM
Where one lives within a country is also important. Around the Mediterranean people prefer towns, while near the Arctic Circle rural life is best. Procreation affects cheerfulness too. In southern Europe families with children are happiest, whereas the British and Irish are the only people to become sadder when little ones arrive. Ageing draws out differences. Everyone is happiest when young and less so in middle age. But in old age the British and Scandinavians cheer up while in the south retirement is a miserable affair. Debt crises and financial woes are not the only reason life within Europe is so often frowned upon.
Discover more
Why America is a “flawed democracy”
EIU’s index plots the country’s democratic decline since 2006
Five charts compare Democrats and Republicans on job creation
Our analysis of the past eight American presidents