I was recently reading through The 2024 Gallup Global Emotions report. I was really interested to see how different the findings were in comparison to the World Happiness Report findings.
In the World Happiness report, the top ten countries in terms of life satisfaction are:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- Australia
For the Gallup Global Emotions report, the top ten countries in terms of positive experiences from the day before in 2023 looked very different:
- Paraguay = 86
- Panama = 86
- Guatemala = 85
- Mexico = 84
- Indonesia = 84
- El Salvador = 83
- Costa Rica = 83
- Malaysia = 82
- Senegal = 82
- Philippines = 82
In fact, there is no overlap at all between the two top ten lists. The World Happiness report top ten is dominated by Nordic and European countries. Israel and Australia are the only exceptions. The Gallup Global positive experiences top ten is instead made up of countries from Central and South America and Asia. Senegal is the only exception.
So what is going on here, and why is there such a big difference with no overlap in either top ten list?
I think it because they are measuring different things. Previously, I have written an article about our two selves. The first is the experiential self, or how much we are enjoying things in the moment. The second is the narrative self, or how we are feeling about our life in general.
The Cantril Ladder question that determines the World Happiness rankings asks more about people’s narrative self. It questions people’s life satisfaction in general on a scale from 0 to 10. A score of 0 is the worst life they can imagine. Meanwhile, 10 signifies the best life.
The Gallup Positive Experiences instead asks about people’s experiential self. It asks how well-rested someone felt yesterday. It also asks if they were treated with respect all day. Furthermore, it inquires if they smiled or laughed a lot. It then asks if they did something interesting or learned something, and if they felt enjoyment.
In determining where it would be better to live, you may need to consider your priorities. Ask yourself which self is more important to you. Would you rather feel more satisfied with your life in general. Or would you rather experience more positive things from day to day?
Maybe both things are important to you. However, it could be tough to find a country excelling in looking after both our narrative and experiential self. I think I might actually prefer to live in a country with more positive experiences. What about you?
Dr Damon Ashworth
Clinical Psychologist
Damon Ashworth Psychology 
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