A study finds Danes are the happiest and most satisfied residents of Europe.
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Researchers from Cambridge University surveyed 20,000 people in 180 regions, The Telegraph reported. The study looked at the 15 countries that were members of the European Union in 2004.
"People throughout the EU appear to be relatively happy and no area scored below five in terms of either happiness or life satisfaction," said Luisa Corrado, a Cambridge economist who was involved in the research. "The survey shows that trust in society is very important. The countries that scored high for happiness also reported the highest levels of trust in their governments, laws and each other."
Generally, Scandinavians ranked high in both satisfaction and happiness, while the Mediterranean countries of Portugal, Italy and Greece were at the bottom. The study found that in countries like Denmark rich people tended to be happier than poor people -- but that was not true in countries like Italy where there is lack of trust in government and society.
Researchers also found that those born in the country where they live tend to be happier than immigrants, suggesting that people can't just move to Denmark to get happier.