The world is becoming a happier place: study

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The world is becoming a happier place, a study published in this month's Perspectives of Psychological Science shows.

Data from national surveys conducted between 1981 and 2006, which were collated by researchers at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, showed that happiness was on the rise in 40 out of 52 countries.

University of Michigan political scientist Ronald Inglehart, the lead author of the study, said the upswell in happiness came as a surprise to researchers.

"It's widely believed that it's almost impossible to raise an entire country's happiness level," he said.

"Important events like winning the lottery or learning you have cancer can lead to short-term changes, but in the long run most previous...