The World Map Of Happiness

So, it turns out that if you want to live the most fulfilling life possible, you need to head out of Europe.

This fascinating infographic charts the scores of the 'Happy Planet Index' across every country on the globe, to find out which countries are giving their citizens the best deal.

The score is calculated by multiplying 'experienced well-being' - ie. happiness - by life expectancy, then dividing by that nation's ecological footprint. In other words, who is having the happiest lives for the longest time, whilst also achieving it in a sustainable manner.

The 'winners' are Costa Rica, Vietnam and Columbia; we're fairly certain that the performances of the former and latter nations in this year's World Cup must have boosted the experienced well-being scores a bit. Meanwhile, not a single European nation features in the top 10.

Take a look at the full map below, head to the HPI website for more info, and click on the image to see a larger version.

(Image: visual.ly)