Latin American Countries Top The Happiest Places On Earth

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Jan 06, 2016 04:50 AM EST

A global survey was made to assess the happiest and unhappiest places on earth. The survey revealed the conflicting hopes, happiness and despair around the world. The results revealed that Latin Americans are happier than those living in the United States.

According to Fusion, the Annual End of Year Survey for 2015 by Gallup and WIN, an international market-research association, is already done. The survey asked people from 68 countries whether they are happy with their lives and if they feel optimistic about their nation's economic situation.

The report suggested that the results might come as a surprise to some people living in the United States, who believe that they have things better than the rest of the world, since the results revealed that Colombia tops the chart in the happiest nation in the world.

Eighty-seven percent of the respondents from Colombia revealed that they are happy while only 2 percent were unhappy. This puts the South American nation's net happiness at 85 percent.

Among the countries that made it to the top 10 from Latin America are Argentina, Mexico, Panama and Ecuador. Per the report, several other Latin American countries claimed to be the happiest in the region including Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, which were excluded from the survey for unknown reasons.

In the United States where income is five times higher than in Mexico, only 59 percent admitted in the survey that they were happy with their lives. Another 16 percent complained about their unhappiness, which give the U.S. a net happiness score of 43 percent.

Recognizing Latin America as the happiest place on earth should not be surprising because they are already known for it. In fact, last year, for the first time in a decade, the top 10 happiest countries for 2014 Gallup Positive Experience Index were all from Latin America, LiveScience reported. In the said survey, Paraguay tops the chart as the happiest country on the planet.

So, why are Latin Americans happy? The Huffington Post has learned that, instead of making work, success and wealth as their top priority, Latinos bank on their family and community firmly. They work to live, instead of living to work.

Aside from this, they also recognize that happiness does not rely on one's achievement or future goal. The future might not cooperate, so they choose to live, love and laugh at the present because these things can be done even with very little money.

Moreover, health care in Latin America is a basic human right and it is supplied free. Anyone who needs assistance can expect to get it, which is a huge relief for the residents.

Have you been to a Latin America country? How was your experience? Share it in the comment section below.

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