Iceland is revealed as the world's happiest nation, with Sweden and the Netherlands close behind, in a survey assessing quality of life. The survey 'Happy life expectancy -a comprehensive measure of quality of life in nations', conducted by Ruut Veenhoven, measures life expectancy and reported happiness, leaving aside commonly associated considerations, such as wealth and GNP.Quality of life is difficult to measure and quantify objectively particularly if comparisons are drawn across national boundaries. A number of factors such as wealth, pollution and population density may be presumed to have an impact on happiness: none of them, however, constitutes happiness or unhappiness in itself. Philosophically speaking, happiness is an extremely subjective phenomenon and an excellent topic for endless and inconclusive debate.
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