[user104658]

Originally Posted by armand.kay

bye..

Happiness beyond the basic needs such as food, water, shelter and companionship is really not linked to wealth at all so there is absolutely no reason to assume that just because a country is "poorer", its people aren't happier.

Some people live very happy, content lives almost completely "off the grid" with no material wealth at all. Some very rich people are so miserable that they take their own lives before they hit middle age.

The UK is a miserable place. People have miserable, materialistic priorities here. That's pushed by parents, in schools, and by the government every day... trying to convince us all from the age of 5 that the ultimate goals in life are "good grades", for "good jobs" and then "plenty of money" (and then supposedly you will be happy). When you combine that with crappy weather conditions that stop people from getting back to any sort of natural state at all, then no, it's not surprising that we're an unhappy nation at all.