Report: Turks are among unhappiest nations

PanARMENIAN.Net - A new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that aims to paint a comprehensive picture of well-being in OECD countries and other major economies by looking at people's material living conditions and quality of life across the population has found that Turks are the 32nd happiest among those in the 40 countries that were studied, Today’s Zaman reports.

In the “How's Life?” initiative, the results of which were published online on Oct. 12, The OECD studied 11 specific aspects of life that are believed to contribute to the overall well-being of people across the world. The organization looked at parameters such as income, jobs, housing, health and work-life balance to assess how people perceive the quality of their lives.

The report shows that income is a prime contributing factor to well-being, yet so are less obvious factors such as a clean environment, health and safe neighborhoods. According to the report, when respondents were asked whether they are satisfied with their life, Danes rated their life satisfaction at 7.8 on average and topped the list. Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, Israel and Finland were the next most satisfied, followed by people in Ireland, Austria and the United States. Turkey ranked 32nd in this category. When asked the question “How are you feeling today?” Danes again came in at the top, with approximately 88 percent responding that they felt positive emotions, while Turkey hit the bottom on this scale.

The report found that Norwegians, Finns and Danes are the most politically active, with more than 60 percent saying they had contacted a politician, signed a petition, worked with a pressure group or demonstrated in the past year, while Turks, Portuguese and Russians reported the lowest levels of activism.