幸福是如何评定的？

幸福是非常主观的。有些人下雨的时候会觉得幸福，有些人在阳光普照的时候觉得很幸福。那么，如何评定幸福？显而易见，全球幸福数据库里的人都考虑了诸多不同的因素，比如平均预期寿命等。当然最重要的参考标准是人们对 “How happy are you?”这个问题的回答（虽然实际问题会根据时间的推移有点区别）。人们在考虑了所有的变量后，通过电脑给自己的生活评分，量表从0分至10分。分数越高，人们越幸福。

10. Luxembourg – 7.6 points
Living in the worlds richest country inevitably puts a smile on your face! This small landlocked European country has an army of 800 people (yes, 800). They don't have a navy nor an air force but together with Belgium they can afford to own 1 military cargo plane. Beat that US!
According to the Guinness Book of World Records Luxembourg holds the world record as the country that consumes most alcohol in the world per citizen.

卢森堡公国 —— 7.6分
住在全球最富有的国家，必然让你脸上笑靥如花！这个被陆地包围的欧洲的小国家，拥有一支800人的陆军（是的，只有800）。他们既没有海军，也没有空军，但是和比利时一起，他们可以买下一军用运输机。打倒美国！
根据吉尼斯世界纪录大全的记载，卢森堡公国是世界上人均消费酒精饮料最大的记录保持者。

9. Guatemala – 7.6 points
This Central American country borders with Mexico in the north and is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. This location makes it a very difficult country to stay happy in – Guatemala is frequently ravished by hurricanes and earthquakes that often kill thousands of people. Main exports of Guatemala include coffee, sugar and bananas. The latter is probably why they are so happy – have you ever seen someone that can stay sad while eating a banana? 56% of all Guatemalans live in poverty. If you ask me, they can use the cheap bananas!

危地马拉 —— 7.6分
这个中美洲国家北接墨西哥，并与太平洋和加勒比海相临。危地马拉经常被飓风和地震袭击，经常有数千人遇难，按理说，这样的地理环境可能导致当地居民生活得不幸福，但事实却非如此。危地马拉出口咖啡、糖和香蕉等商品 —— 也许这就是他们觉得幸福的原因吧。你有见过谁一边吃香蕉一边伤心吗？56%的危地马拉居民生活困苦。如果你问我他们怎么生活，我会说，他们可以吃便宜的香蕉！

8. Canada – 7.6 points
Many people have no idea that Canada's head of state is actually Queen Elizabeth II – the head of the British Monarchy. This meant that when Britain declared war on Germany in World War I, Canada was automatically at war with the soon to be Nazi country. Unlike the neighboring US, Canada has never cancelled its relations with Cuba and has declined to take part from the Iraq War – instead, it has played a leading role in the United Nations peacekeeping missions and helped to launch a $1.5 billion initiative to help develop vaccines that could save millions of people in poor countries. It seems that happy people make a happy country!

加拿大 —— 7.6分
很多人不知道加拿大的国家元首其实是女王伊丽莎白二世，即英国的君主。也就是说，当英国在第一次世界大战向德国宣战的时候，加拿大也就自动加入了对抗未来纳粹政府的队伍中。与其邻居美国不同，加拿大从未断绝与古巴的关系，而且也拒绝加入伊拉克战争。相反地，加拿大在联合国维护和平任务中起了主导作用；同时，加拿大主动投资十五亿美元来开发疫苗，此举拯救了贫困国家的数百万人。由此看来，是快乐的人创造了这个幸福的国家！

7. Sweden – 7.7 points
This "welfare state" model is an excellent example of effective national taxes. Among other things the state provides universal tax-funded childcare, parental leave, health care, education (including university), retirement pensions and sick leave. Including value added tax (VAT – kind of like sales tax), it is possible to pay up to 80% of your income as taxes. Contrary to popular belief, Swedes are quite OK with their high taxes – after all it gives them tons of high quality services and they almost never need to take drastic action like taking quick payday
loans just to make ends meet. In fact, most of the services for the public are free, so what's not to be happy about?
Sweden is also the home of IKEA – the worlds largest furniture store. IKEA’s founder Ingvar Kampard is famous for being the 7th richest person in the world (Net worth $31 billion) and driving a 15 year old Volvo station wagon. It has been claimed that more people read the Ikea catalogue than the Bible – and that one in ten Europeans have been conceived on an Ikea bed.

瑞典 —— 7.7分
这个“福利国家”是有效征收国税的优秀典范。在其他方面，瑞典用税收为其国民提供普遍的儿童保育金、育儿假、医疗保险、教育（包括大学）、养老金和病假等。其国税，包括增值税（VAT——有点儿像营业税）在内，占到个人财富的80%。与普通观点相反，瑞典人对于他们国家的高税收很认同——毕竟，他们国家为他们提供了高质量的服务，而且他们不需要为了生活而采取快速贷款这样的极端行为。事实上，国家提供的大部分服务都是免费的，他们怎么不幸福呢？

宜家家居——世界上最大的家居厂，也是瑞典的。宜家的创始人Ingvar Kampard是世界排名第七的富翁（净资产达31亿美元），开一辆沃尔沃豪华旅行汽车。据说，看宜家产品目录的人比看圣经的人还多，而且有十分之一的欧洲人都买了宜家的床。

6. Australia – 7.7 points
The name "Australia" comes from the Latin word "Australis", meaning "Southern". Australia is the only country in the world, that consists of an entire continent. Between 1788 and 1868 the British used Australia as a colony to deport their convicted criminals – these people are the predecessors to many of today’s citizens. Australians are famous for playing rugby and calling each-other "mates".

澳大利亚 —— 7.7分
“Australia”这个词源于拉丁词“Australis”，是“南方的”的意思。澳大利亚是世界上唯一一个独占一个大陆的国家。在1788至1868年间，澳大利亚是英国的罪犯流放殖民地，因此澳大利亚人的祖先大多是英国以前流放的罪犯。澳大利亚人热衷于打橄榄球，球员叫彼此做“mates”。

5. Finland – 7.7 points
This is the country that brought us Nokia – the worlds largest manufacturer of mobile phones. In 2003 Nokia accounted for about a quarter of Finland's exports and in 2006 it generated more revenue than the entire budget of Finland. Before starting to make mobile phones Nokia made (yes, it's true) rubber boots! Finland was also home to Simo Häyhä – considered to be the most deadly sniper through history with 542 kills. According to World Economic Forum Finland has the most competitive economy in the world. Plenty to be happy about!
芬兰 —— 7.7分
这个国家为我们带来了诺基亚——世界最大的手机生产商。2003年，诺基亚出口占芬兰总出口的四分之一；然后在2006年，诺基亚的创造的收益甚至超过了芬兰整个国家的总预算。在制造手机之前，诺基亚是生产橡胶靴的（没错，是真的）！芬兰同时也是西蒙海耶的故乡，西蒙海耶是历史上最强的狙击手，他一共射杀534名敌人。世界经济论坛数据表明，芬兰是世界上最具竞争力的经济体。芬兰确实有很多让人感到幸福的方面!

4. Iceland – 7.8 points
This geologically active country is rich in volcanoes and geysers (A geyser is a hot spring that erupts water in certain intervals). Thanks to geothermal power Iceland gets its electricity and hot water dirt cheap. There have been occasions where steel has been shipped for processing from Australia or Africa and when finished shipped back to the originating country. Cheap local energy actually makes this cost effective. According to the Human Development Index, Iceland (together with Norway) is the world’s most developed country.

冰岛 —— 7.8分
这个地质活跃的国家有很多火山和间歇泉（间歇泉就是间断喷发的温泉）。由于这些地热动力，冰岛的电和热水特别便宜。很多时候，钢铁从澳洲或非洲运到冰岛加工，加工完成后再运回去。冰岛便宜的能量让这生意非常划算。

根据人类发展指数，冰岛（与挪威）是世界上最发达的国家。

3. Austria – 8.0 points
Austria is the home to the popular energy drink Red Bull. This country is also one of the few in the world, that allows legal voting beginning from age 16. Upon turning 18, all Austrian males have to take part of a 6 month military service. The country has declared itself formally a neutral country or a "perpetual neutrality" as they say it, but in reality it has taken part of various peacekeeping missions and also took part of the UN sanctions against Iraq. Thanks to the wide use of wind-, solar- and hydropower Austria produces around 80% of its energy from renewable resources. Education is mostly free, with the exception of an average semester fee of 583 dollars (370 eur) in universities. As you probably guessed – student loan debts are not an issue in Austria.

奥地利 —— 8.0分
奥地利是受欢迎的功能饮料红牛的产地。这个国家也是世界上为数不多的规定投票法定年龄为16岁的国家之一。到18岁的时候，每个奥地利男人都必须服兵役6个月。这个国家已经宣布其为中立国，或者按他们的说法“永久中立”。但事实上，奥地利参加了联和国的维和任务，也参加了制裁伊拉克行动。由于对风力、太阳能和水力的充分利用，奥地利80%的能量是由可再生资源产生的。除了大学要花费583美元（370欧元）外，教育基本上是免费的。你可能已经猜到了，那就是学生贷款在奥地利是很容易的。

2. Switzerland – 8.1 points
This cheese and chocolate producing land is the world’s 10th richest country. Switzerland’s neutrality helped their banks to raise some serious cash – for decades it was possible to open a bank account without having to identify yourself. Upon opening an account, you were given a special number that anyone could use to deposit or withdraw money. This law was later changed since it attracted illegal money. Switzerland is also one of the top garbage recyclers in the world (66% to 96% recyclable materials recycled). They achieve this by keeping recycling free, but asking money for regular garbage – thus giving people a financial incentive to recycle.

瑞士 —— 8.1分
这个奶酪和巧克力之国是世界上第十富有的国家。瑞士的中立立场助其银行增加了足够的金钱，因此在几十年内，瑞士人无需身份认证就可在银行开户。开户后，银行会给你一个特别的号码，任何人都可以用这个号码存钱或取钱。后来因为这项法规导致很多非法钱而被取缔。瑞士也是世界上为垃圾回收作出巨大贡献的国家之一（66%至96%的可循环再用的材料均被重复利用）。瑞士的垃圾回收是免费的，但随意投放垃圾会被罚款，给其人民以财政激励，来保证垃圾回收在全国范围的施行。

1. Denmark – 8.2 points
Just like Sweden, Denmark is a Nordic welfare state with most of its services free to the citizens. Expect to pay 72% of your money to the government on the highest income tax bracket. According to Wikipedia Denmark has the world’s highest taxes! When buying a car in Denmark one has to pay 25% VAT to the import price of the vehicle and then a 180% registration tax on top. That means when a car sells for $20 000, you have to pay an additional $45 000 as taxes for the government (total of $65 000). That’s why people in Denmark ride bikes or use one of the best public transport systems in the world. Denmark also has 2 autonomous provinces – the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The latter is over 50 times larger than Denmark but has about 100 times less people.

丹麦 —— 8.2分
正如瑞典一样，丹麦也是一个北欧福利国家，其大部分服务都是免费提供给国民的。丹麦的最高税率为个人收入的72%。维基百科的数据显示，丹麦是世界上税率最高的国家！如果一个人要在丹麦买车，他必须按该车的进口价支付25%的增值税，然后加上最高180%的注册税。也就是说，如果一辆车的价格是20,000美元，你必须额外支付45,000美元的税收给政府（总共65,000美元）。这就是丹麦人骑自行车的原因，也就是丹麦拥有世界上最好的公共交通系统的原因。丹麦也有2个自治区——法罗群岛和格陵兰。格陵兰的面积是丹麦的50倍，但是人口比丹麦少100倍。
Other notable countries
USA – 7.4 points – 17th place
Great Britain – 7.1 points – 22nd place
France – 6.5 points – 39th place
China – 6.3 points – 44th place
India – 6.3 points – 45th place
Japan – 6.3 points – 46th place