News

This is the Happiest Country in the Caribbean

By: Caribbean Journal Staff - April 24, 2015 - 2:34 pm

Above: Maracas Beach in Trinidad (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Trinidad and Tobago is the Caribbean’s happiest country, according to the latest edition of the World Happiness Report.

The report, which is published by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network, ranked Trinidad and Tobago at 41st in the world, just ahead of El Salvador.

The number one country on the list was Switzerland, followed by Iceland.

The next-highest-ranked Caribbean country after Trinidad and Tobago was Jamaica, which came out at 65th in the world, followed by the Dominican Republic and 98 and Haiti at 119.

The rankings are based on data from the Gallup World Poll, which is based on answers to the main “life evaluation question” in the poll called the “Cantril ladder.”

The poll asked “respondents to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale,” according to the report.

The rankings come from representative samples from the years 2012-2014.

Trinidad was also the top-ranked Caribbean country in the last Happiness Report in 2013.

It should be noted that many of the Caribbean’s smaller island states were not included on the report.

In a response, the UNSDN said the omission of many Caribbean countries was due to “a financial constraint Gallup faces for its polling.”

Popular Posts antigua long bay

25 Perfect Caribbean Beaches to Add to Your Summer Bucket List

There’s nothing like a Caribbean beach in summer. The crowds thin out, the winds relax, and the islands start breathing in a different way. The beaches you thought you knew feel new again— stretches of sand once packed with winter […]


The 15 Best Hotels in Trinidad and Tobago, From Hidden Eco-Retreats to Luxury Towers

trinidad and tobago hotels where to stay

From Port of Spain to Tobago’s quiet coasts, these are the places to check in now No two Caribbean islands are quite like Trinidad and Tobago—and no two hotels here feel the same. This is a destination of contrast: Carnival […]


Royal Caribbean’s New Cruise Ship Has a Rooftop Bar, a Waterpark and the Largest Pool at Sea

star of the seas

You step into a glass dome floating high above the ocean. To your right, divers plunge from platforms. Above, aerialists twist through light. Somewhere behind you, a DJ is spinning beside a suspended infinity pool. This isn’t a dream — […]


Related Posts caribbean tourism remagining

A New Plan to “Reimagine” Caribbean Tourism

The Caribbean has long been a mosaic of sun, sea, and culture — but now it wants to be something more. With a bold new roadmap unveiled in New York last month, the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization is charting a […]


Marriott’s Smallest Caribbean All-Inclusive Resort Is An Adults-Only Hideaway With an “Art Crawl” and Beach Ambassadors

all-inclusive caribbean marriott smallest

A quiet road breaks away from the more familiar western coast here and winds past village shops, and salt-blown sea grape trees. There are no mega-resorts. No throngs. No day trippers on quick-shore missions. Just you, the island, and a […]


The Best Beaches in America Are in the Caribbean

beaches

You want to find the best beaches in America? You need to head south. Way south. Because they’re not where you think they are. They’re not in Florida, not in California, not in the Carolinas. They’re in the Caribbean. Yes […]