Pursuing Happiness
Americans work harder than most Europeans (an average of 1731 hours a year compared with 1440 for Germans), have less job security than ever before, and report having fewer close friends than a couple of decades ago. Studies suggest that people in certain poor countries, for instance Nigeria and Mexico, are happier than Americans.
A 2006 Pew Research Center study, “Are We Happy Yet?,” claims that 84% of Americans are either “very happy” (34%) or “pretty happy” (50%). The Harris Poll’s 2004 “feel good index” found that 95% are pleased with their homes and 91% are pleased with their social lives. The Pew polls show that nearly half (49%) of Americans with annual incomes of more than $100,000 say that they are very happy compared with just 24% of people with incomes of $30,000 or less. 43% of Americans who attend religious services once a week or more report being very happy compared with 31% who attend once a month or less and 26% of people who attend seldom or never.
45% of Republicans report being “very happy” compared with just 30% of Democrats.
“Pursuing happiness,” The Economist