Happiness Index Takes a Hit as Greece, Italy, Spain Struggle

Greece, Italy and Spain saw the biggest declines in national average happiness because their social institutions were too weak to handle stresses from the global financial crisis, according to a United Nations report.

The annual World Happiness Report found Greece was the biggest loser, with a decline of 1.5 points in its national average contentment from the pre-recession years of 2005-2007 to 2012-2014. Italy’s happiness fell by 0.8 points and Spain’s by 0.7 points during the same time period.