VOX Article on Social Determinants of Well-Being

International evidence on the social context of wellbeing  Christopher Barrington-Leigh   Anthony Harris   John Helliwell   Haifang Huang

What accounts for life satisfaction differences across countries? This column presents new findings from the Gallup World Poll of more than 140,000 respondents worldwide. It suggests the happiest nations are those with strong social support from family and friends, freedom in making life choices, and low levels of corruption.