Proof that money really doesn’t make you happy! Research in 19 regions shows that people who earn virtually nothing are just as satisfied as people with a lot of money

It turns out that the old saying “Money can’t buy happiness” is true.

A new study shows that people living in low-income areas are much happier than people in rich countries.

Economic growth and higher household incomes have traditionally been seen as a way to increase people’s well-being, and global studies have found that people in high-income countries tend to report higher levels of happiness than people in low-income countries.

However, researchers from Barcelona and Canada argue that the conclusion may not be universal and that polls used to draw the conclusion only collect responses from people in industrialized cities – but fail to study people in small-scale societies where money does not play a central role plays in society. the residents’ daily lives and livelihoods are more dependent on nature.

Based on a survey of 2,966 people from indigenous and local communities in 19 locations around the world, researchers have now found societies of indigenous peoples and people in small, local communities report living very satisfying lives despite not having much money to have.

Researchers said these people could be happier because of family and social support, close relationships, spirituality and connections to nature

Researchers concluded that the findings are strong evidence that economic growth is not necessary to be happy.

Eric Galbraith, lead author of the study, said: ‘Surprisingly, many populations with very low monetary incomes report very high average life satisfaction, with scores comparable to those in rich countries.’

Only 64 percent of households included in the reported survey have cash income.

And researchers wrote that there is high life satisfaction “despite many of these societies having a history of marginalization and oppression.”

For the study, the researchers translated a question into the local languages ​​of the communities they studied: “Taking all aspects into account, how satisfied are you with your life on a scale of 0 to 10?”

Ten represented the most satisfaction.

The average life satisfaction score on a scale of zero to 10 among the societies studied was 6.8. The lowest score was 5.1, but four of the communities surveyed scored an eight or higher on the scale, making them among the happiest people in the world.

The small-scale farming community in the western highlands of Guatemala scores the happiest, with an average score of 8.6.

The lowest scoring community was that of farmers in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. The average life satisfaction score there was 5.1 and the average household wealth was valued at $71.

The average household wealth in the community was estimated at $3,500.

Based on the comprehensive World Happiness Report, the highest scoring happiest countries were Finland, with a score of 7.8, Denmark with 7.6 and Iceland with 7.5.

The World Happiness Report, now in its eleventh year, is based on people's own assessment of their happiness, as well as on economic and social data.  It assigns a happiness score on a scale of zero to ten, based on an average of data over a three-year period

The World Happiness Report, now in its eleventh year, is based on people’s own assessment of their happiness, as well as on economic and social data. It assigns a happiness score on a scale of zero to ten, based on an average of data over a three-year period

The World Happiness Report 2023 is based on people’s own assessment of their happiness, as well as economic and social data.

Similar to the question asked in the survey of 19 communities, the World Happiness Report asks respondents to rate their lives on a scale from zero – the worst – to 10 – the best.

Britain fell two places to 19th, while the US rose one place to 15th in the annual UN-sponsored index.

In the happiest city… in the happiest country in the world

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the sixth year in a row, according to an annual UN-sponsored index.  In the photo, Helsinki

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the sixth year in a row, according to an annual UN-sponsored index. In the photo, Helsinki

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the sixth year in a row by the World Happiness Report

In the most recent survey, the highest scoring communities were in Central and South America.

Victoria Reyes-Garcia, senior author of the study, said: ‘The strong correlation often observed between income and life satisfaction is not universal and proves that wealth – as generated by industrialized economies – is not fundamentally required for people to have a happy to live a life.’

The researchers said this was good news for environmental and sustainability efforts around the world, as it suggests that resource-intensive economic growth is not necessary for people to experience high levels of life satisfaction.

Although the findings indicate that money does not buy happiness, the researchers could not hypothesize why indigenous and marginal communities report high levels of satisfaction.

Citing previous research on related issues, the researchers said this could be due to family and social support, close relationships, spirituality and connections to nature.

Galbraith added: ‘But it is possible that the important factors differ significantly between societies or, conversely, that a small subset of factors dominate everywhere.

“I hope that by learning more about what makes life fulfilling in these diverse communities, it can help many others live more fulfilling lives while addressing the sustainability crisis.”

The study was published by researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and McGill University in Canada in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.