Colombia is the happiest country on Earth

Secondo la classifica stilata dalla società di sondaggi Gallup, la Colombia è il pase più felice del mondo, seguito da Fiji, Arabia Saudita, Azerbaijan e Vietnam.

Despite the country’s GDP and the problems linked to drug trade, Colombians seem to be the happiest people in the world: they consider themselves satisfied by numerous bonds of friendship and by a high level of personal freedom. This is what a research carried out by the WIN/Gallup International Association, company that carries out surveys and market researches and that published the annual global End of Year survey, has revealed.

 

Felicità in Colombia
According to a survey of the WIN/Gallup International Association, Colombia is the happiest place on Earth © Rick Gomez/Corbis

 

For the survey, over 66,000 people from 68 countries have been polled, being asked “In general, do you personally feel very happy, happy, neither happy nor unhappy, unhappy or very unhappy about your life?” According to the research, 87% of Colombians said they are happy, exceeding the world average happiness (56%).

 

According to Gallup, Colombia is followed by Fiji (82%), Saudi Arabia (82%), Azerbaijan (81%), and Vietnam (80%), whilst Iraq is the world’s unhappiest country for the second year in a row (-12%). There are many reasons that led Colombia to rank first (like in 2012). Here are some.

 

Nature

Located between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean and covered by the lush Amazon Forest, Colombia boasts an incredible variety of natural beauties, satisfying the lovers of mountains, forests, and tropical beaches. Moreover, the country is home to about 10% of the planet’s biodiversity, including 3 out of 4 species of tapir and the greatest variety of orchids.

 

Rana colombiana
Colombia is home to 10% of the planet’s biodiversity, including a wide rage of anfibes. specimen of Linda’s tree frog (Hyloscirtus lindae) © Thomas Marent/Visuals Unlimited/Corbis

 

Climate

The sun and a mild climate have a positive influence on people’s mood and Colombia, thanks to its proximity to the Equator, boasts this kind of climate all the year round.

 

Sustainable mobility

Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, boasts a 300-kilometre grid of bicycle paths, the so called “ciclorutas”, which is Latin America’s largest. “A developed country is not a place where the poor own cars, rather it’s where even the rich use public transportation,” said Gustavo Petro, Bogotá’s mayor.

 

Carnevale in Colombia
Barranquilla’s Carnival  © Eliana Aponte/Xinhua Press/Corbis

 

Celebrations

Colombians love to celebrate. In fact, following Argentina, Colombia is the country with the highest number of national days in the world: 18 days, compared to 10 days in the United States. The country also hosts the Baranquilla’s Carnival, Latin America’s second carnival after Rio de Janeiro.

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