Ghanaians are Happy People

(Daily Graphic) -- GHANAIANS have been rated third as the happiest people in the world in a new international study published in the Danish newspaper 'Berlingske Titnedeh'

Ghana scored 7.7 points ahead of Canada, Guatemala, Luxumburg, Holland and Sweden which scored 7.6 points.

According to the study, the citizens of Denmark , Malta and Switzerland are the happiest in the world. They scored eight points on a scale of 10.

People living in these three countries came at the top of a list of 90 countries which were included in a sample survey about how "people living in these countries enjoy their lives.

Iceland and Ireland came in second position with a score of 7.8.

The process of ranking the citizens of these countries in a list of international happiness was based on a study conducted by Professor Ruud Van Hoven at the Erasmus University located in the Netherlands over the last 20 years.

The patterns in Denmark point to an increase in the levels of satisfaction with life, whereas the indications in Switzerland and Malta point to a decrease in satisfaction.

Van Hoven argues that the model of the northern European country fulfils all of the five main criteria of a society that enjoys good standards of living, in relation to the levels of income, democracy and good governanace, the low levels of corruption and the high margins of freedom.

Armenia and Ukraine, Moldova , Zimbabwe and Tanzania came at the bottom of the list, with Tanzania scoring a mere 3.2.