WHERE DID ISRAEL PLACE ON THE 2016 WORLD HAPPINESS INDEX?

The annual World Happiness Report published on Tues. 15 March by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) ranked Israel as the 11th happiest country in the world for a third year in a row, out of 156 countries surveyed. The top 10 this year were Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. The bottom 10 were Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi. The United States came in at 13. "There is a very strong message for my country, the United States, which is very rich, has gotten a lot richer over the last 50 years, but has gotten no happier," said Professor Jeffrey Sachs, head of the SDSN and special adviser to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. "The message for the United States is clear. For a society that just chases money, we are chasing the wrong things. Our social fabric is deteriorating, social trust is deteriorating, faith in government is deteriorating," he said. (J. Post)