世界上最幸福的地方：斯堪的納維亞

The happiest people in the world may live in Scandinavia, a new study suggests.
一項最新研究表明，世界上最幸福的人也許是斯堪的納維亞的居民們。

That's according to the United Nations General Assembly's second World Happiness Report, which ranks countries based on several measures of well-being and analyzes the factors that contribute to that well-being.
這個結論來自聯合國大會的第二份幸福報告。該報告根據多種衡量幸福的標準，並分析了和幸福相關的各種因素，將世界各國進行了排名。

Denmark was the happiest country, followed by Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada.
丹麥是世界上最幸福的國家，接下來依次是挪威、瑞士、 荷蘭、瑞典和加拿大。

Happiness counts
幸福十分重要

For years, the tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan has tried to measure "gross national happiness" to counter measures such as gross domestic product (GDP), arguing that such simple metrics don't capture what is really meaningful to people.
多年來，喜馬拉雅山脈地區的小國不丹一直試圖測量“國內幸福總值”來對抗諸如國內生產總值（GDP）這樣的指數。他們認爲GDP這樣簡單的指標對人民來說並沒有真正的意義。

Last year's study showed that whereas rich people are happier on average than poor people, increasing GDP in a country doesn't necessarily boost well-being. For instance, GDP tripled in the United States since the 1960s, yet well-being has stagnated.
去年的研究表明，雖然富人的幸福感平均來說要高於窮人，但一個國家GDP的增長並不意味着幸福感的增強。比如美國的GDP自上世紀60年代以來增長了3倍，而幸福感卻停滯不前。

To assess world happiness in the new study, the researchers analyzed happiness data starting from 2005. Most of the data came from the Gallup World Poll, which surveyed more than 150 countries around the world.
在這項新研究中，爲了評價世界的幸福感，研究人員分析了從2005年以來的幸福數據。大部分數據來自蓋洛普公司的民意調查，該調查涉及了全世界150多個國家。

Worldwide trends
世界趨勢

Scandinavian countries topped the list of happiest countries, with the United States ranking 17th,bested by Mexico, Panama and the United Arab Emirates.
斯堪的納維亞國家在幸福國家的排行上名列前茅，美國排在第17位，排在它之前的有墨西哥、巴拿馬和阿聯酋。

On average, people in more than 150 countries rate their happiness as a 5.1 on a scale of 0 to 10. But happiness hasn't stayed constant over time: 61 countries saw their happiness improve over the years, while 41 countries have become unhappier. Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America are becoming happier overall, while industrial nations report less well-being.
150多個國家的國民的平均幸福感分數是5.1，滿分是10分。但幸福感並不是持久不變的：61個國家的人認爲他們的幸福感隨着時間在增強，而41個國家的人則認爲沒有過去幸福了。撒哈拉以南非洲以及拉丁美洲的居民總體來說變得更加幸福，而工業國家居民的幸福感則普遍下降。

More than three-quarters of the differences in happiness scores were attributable to six key metrics: real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption and generosity.
在幸福感分數鍾超過3/4的差異來自以下6個關鍵指標：真正的人均GDP、健康壽命、可以依靠的人、做出人生選擇的自由、廉潔度和寬容度。

The new data could help public policy-makers tweak their policies to impact those factors, such as cracking down on corruption, to boost people's happiness.
這些新數據也許可以幫助國家公共政策的制定者針對這些要素改變他們的政策，比如打擊腐敗，以此來增強人民的幸福感。

In adddition, mental health problems such as clinical depression and anxiety have a huge impact on people's well-being. Yet mental health issues are often ignored b policy-makers, the study found.
此外，精神健康問題，比如臨牀抑鬱症和焦慮，都會對人們的幸福感有很大影響。

"There is now a rising worldwide demand that policy be more closely aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their well-being," said study co-author Jeffery Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, in a statement. "More and more world leaders are talking about the importance of well-being as a guide for their nations and the world. The World Happiness Report 2013 offers rich evidence that the systematic measurement and analysis of happiness can teach us a lot about ways to improve the world's well-being and sustainable development."
“現在世界範圍內有一種日漸增長的需求，就是政策要和那些對人民真正重要的事情緊密相關，因爲人民自己就是幸福感最好的體現，”這篇調查報告的合作作者、來自哥倫比亞大學地球研究所的Jeffery Sachs 在一份聲明中說。“越來越多的世界領導人在談論幸福作爲他們國家乃至全世界一個引導的重要性。2013年世界幸福報告提供了豐富的證據，關於幸福的系統性的度量與分析可以教給我們關於如何促進世界幸福和可持續發展的很多辦法。”

Happy citizens also make for better countries: The report found that happiness makes fore people who live longer, more productive lives, have higher earnings and are better citizens.
幸福的國民還會讓國家變得更好：這份報告發現，幸福會讓人民的壽命更長，生命的質量更高，收入更高。他們會成爲更好的國民。