Are you Happy?

The (Un)Happy Planet Index is a website which measures and compares personal wellbeing and also the wellbeing of the planet across the globe. It is supported by the Friends of the Earth and poses the questions for each of us - are we personally happy? And are we helping to make the planet happy?

Curiously, the happiest countries are those in Central America - a surprise to me as the general perception about them is that they are dangerous and poor countries overwhelmed by drugs and guns. The UK comes at no. 108 in spite of longer life expectancy and being generally more stable economically and politically. Malaysia come no. 44, but with lower life expectancy than the UK. Our “cousins” across the causeway in Singapore fare terribly, coming in at no. 131.

The index also measures the environmental footprint of a country and of individuals ie the impact that person or country has on environmental resources. As you would expect, the more developed the country, the greater the impact. Singapore’s footprint is 6.2, the UK’s is 5.4 and Malaysia’s is at 3.0.

You can check it out for yourself at http://www.happyplanetindex.org/

I took the test to see what my Happiness Index was. I came out above average on general feelings of contentment with my life, personal self-esteem and life expectancy. Sadly, I also came out above average for my environmental footprint - although I rarely use my car and instead often take public transport and walk wherever I can. Perhaps I need to recycle more and live in a colder and darker house!

You can take the test at http://www.happyplanetindex.org/survey.htm. It’s anonymous so you don’t have to worry about typing in your weight and whether you eat too many cheeseburgers!

If you do go and explore or do the quiz, please come back and let me know your thoughts on the site!

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PS. Thanks goes to David Grantley for telling me about the site