People know if they re happy or not I take offense with the view of some members here that some countries are happier than they should be To be honest I see nothing wrong with a study that asks people whether they re happy or not then compiles the results If people in Colombia consider themselves happier than people in Russia that s their decision This index is not a matter of researchers deciding which countries are the happiest then listing their opinions It s the product of surveys of the citizens within those countries if I read the page right Sure you might wonder why the endangered malnourished citizens of Colombia are happier than the well educated protected citizens of Russia Nevertheless it does little good to go up to a Colombian and say you shouldn t be happy Look at all these statistics on your country or approach a Russian and say Well based on your literacy and your income shouldn t you be happier People might not know much but they do know whether or not they re happy With that in mind I don t see any problems with a study that asks citizens if they re satisfied with life then compares the responses across countries