Happiest Economies in Which to Invest

Every year it seems financial analysts come up with new ways to rank investments. Bloomberg recently added to the list by ranking world economies by the financial “happiness” of the citizens in those nations.

Every year it seems financial analysts come up with new ways to rank investments. Bloomberg recently added to the list by ranking world economies by the financial “happiness” of the citizens in those nations. The ranking system looks at factors like unemployment and inflation, then ranked 51 national economies along a “misery index.” The resulting rankings could present an interesting alternative to more complicated, traditional analyses and a refreshing new way for investors to round out their portfolios.

Thailand Surprises

The happiest economy on the list may come as a surprise to many: Thailand. Thailand has experienced surprisingly low unemployment this year (remarkably less than 1 percent). Equally shocking is that inflation has not yet taken hold of the economy. While the nation is under martial law since a coup in 2014, and has a long way to go to reach the living standard of more industrialized Western countries, in terms of the “misery index” this nation is remarkably low (low misery is good).

Super Happy Switzerland

While Switzerland has made financial headlines for a few of its recent ups and downs, in terms of its “misery index,” the country ranks second least miserable / happiest in the study. The country has a relatively tiny unemployment rate of just 3.3 percent and it has experienced a consumer price drop of about 0.9 percent in 2015. For the fourth-richest nation in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that kind of news is rare and quite welcome. Although the nation’s currency has surged a bit, these benefits more than offset the effect of that factor, leading to Switzerland’s overall happiness rating.

US a Fair Number Eight

While the United States may sport the largest and (arguably) most important economy in the world, that does not make it overly “happy.” According to the “misery index,” America only ranks eighth in the world. That may not be too bad, overall, but may surprise some who would expect an economy whose rises and falls affect the economy of the rest of the world to be much more stable on the “misery index.”

No Surprises at Most Miserable

The five least happy / most miserable countries on the list contain no real surprises. With the well-documented struggle of the Greek economy, it ranks as the fifth most “miserable” nation on the list. Ukraine, with its ongoing conflict against Russia, ranks fourth. The most miserable nation in the world is Venezuela with its remarkably bleak financial outlook and no plan or means of improving its present course towards national default and bankruptcy.

The Complete Listings

The rest of the list has fewer surprises, with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Denmark, China, Norway, and the UK rounding out the rest of the top 10. While this may be a novel means of evaluating the strength of an economy for investment purposes, it may not necessarily be the most reliable or provide the fullest picture. The complete rankings break down as follows:

1. Thailand	2. Switzerland	3. Japan
4. South Korea	5. Taiwan	6. Denmark
7.China	8. United States	9. Norway
10. United Kingdom	11. Australia	12.New Zealand
13. Iceland	14. Malaysia	15.Germany
16. Netherlands	17. Hong Kong	18. Israel
19. Hungary	20. Canada	21. Czech Republic
22. Sweden	23. Mexico	24. Australia
25. Romania	26. Belgium	27. Peru
28. Finland	29. Philippines	30. Slovenia
31. Chile	32. France	33. Poland
34. Bulgaria	35. Euro Area	36. Ireland
37. Indonesia	38. Slovakia	39. Brazil
40. Colombia	41. Italy	42. Portugal
43. Turkey	44. Croatia	45. Russia
46. Spain	47. Greece	48. Ukraine
49. South Africa	50. Argentina	51. Venezuela