Happy Places
Life Satisfaction ๐ฏ๐ต๐บ๐ธ
Life Satisfaction ๐ฏ๐ต๐บ๐ธ
| # | Country | Life satisfaction (Cantril ladder, 0โ10) (/10) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica | 7.44 | 2025 |
| 2 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | 6.97 | 2025 |
| 3 | ๐บ๐ธ United States | 6.82 | 2025 |
| 4 | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | 6.69 | 2025 |
| 5 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 6.13 | 2025 |
Costa Rica leads this card at 7.44, with Japan at 6.13. The gap is 1.31 /10. Costa Rica is 1.21 times Japan.
Costa Rica and Mexico outscore the richer US and UK. These scores track social support and health more than income.
Source: World Happiness Report / Wellbeing Research Centre via Our World in Data See the source.
Day Names
Where do their weekday names come from?
| Tier | Countries |
|---|---|
| Gods & planets | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom, ๐ฎ๐ณ India, ๐ซ๐ท France |
| Numbers | ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam, ๐จ๐ณ China, ๐ต๐น Portugal |
| Elements | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan, ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea |
Portugal is the odd one out beside France: segunda-feira means second day, because Martin of Braga refused pagan god names and counted Monday as the second church feria, while French mardi is still Mars. India's Monday is Somvar, the moon, the same planet week as English. Vietnam also says second, thแปฉ hai, while China's Monday is ๆๆไธ, week one, and Japan's Tuesday is ็ซๆๆฅ, Mars written as the element fire. Korean ํ์์ผ is that same fire.
Source: Wikipedia, Names of the days of the week. English Sunday through Saturday are the sun, the moon, Tiw, Woden, Thor, Frigg, and Saturn. French Monday through Friday are the planets (mardi is Mars); dimanche and samedi are Lord's Day and Sabbath. Hindi names all seven for planets (Somvฤr, เคธเฅเคฎเคตเคพเคฐ, is the moon). Portuguese Monday through Friday are numbered ferias because Martin of Braga, archbishop of Braga (died 580), rejected the pagan names; domingo and sรกbado stay Lord's Day and Sabbath. Standard Chinese numbers Monday through Saturday (ๆๆไธ is week one) and Sunday is ๆๆๆฅ, the sun. Vietnamese numbers Monday through Saturday, and Monday, thแปฉ hai, is second; Sunday is chแปง nhแบญt, Lord's Day. Japanese and Korean keep the seven luminaries, so Tuesday is fire: Japanese ็ซๆๆฅ and Korean ํ์์ผ, the planet Mars. Greek, Russian, and Persian are left off as mixed: Greek numbers only Monday through Thursday, then Paraskevi and the Sabbath; Russian numbers only Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; Persian numbers Sunday through Thursday from the Sabbath, and Friday is jom'e. See the source.
Africa by Headcount
Largest African countries by population
| # | Country | Population (people) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | 232,679,478 | 2024 |
| 2 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | 132,059,767 | 2024 |
| 3 | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | 116,538,258 | 2024 |
| 4 | ๐จ๐ฉ Democratic Republic of Congo | 109,276,265 | 2024 |
| 5 | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | 68,560,157 | 2024 |
| 6 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | 64,007,187 | 2024 |
Nigeria (232,679,478) is first. Ethiopia (132,059,767) is second, ahead of Egypt (116,538,258). The Democratic Republic of Congo (109,276,265) is fourth, ahead of Tanzania and South Africa.
Source: World Bank SP.POP.TOTL, 2024 See the source.