Here are my sources. I kinda find it hard to believe a happy country would choos...

burkaman · on Sept 19, 2016

Well these rankings would be a lot easier if it was just a boolean happy or unhappy.

Phillipines is 20th. "I kinda find it hard to believe a happy country would choose Duterte as its President."

Brazil is 23rd. "I kinda find it hard to believe a happy country would impeach its President".

Palestine is 22nd. I was gonna write a sentence of that form for each one but it seems a little unnecessary.

Pakistan is 36th. Haiti is 57th. Iraq is 67th. Egypt is 86th. America does at least barely squeak by Afghanistan and Syria at 110th and 113th.

There certainly is no objective way to measure happiness and the UN method does seem flawed, but come on.

VLM · on Sept 19, 2016

That link defines happiness as in how happy would an American hipster be with the local political situation if teleported there, not happy as in how likely is the average dude on the street to smile or laugh, or how likely is armed revolution.

For example Turkmenistan comes in near last, and it would be hell on earth for a coastal USA hipster who just wants to talk progressive politics in a coffee shop all day, but the natives kinda like it the way it is... happiness is not defined by most as a starbucks on every street corner, etc.