New Zealand beats Australia on world happiness index
Australia has ranked ninth on a list of the world's happiest nations, placing one spot behind our friends across the Tasman in New Zealand.
The report by the United Nations Conference on Happiness shows we have a long way to go if we want to catch up to northern Europe in terms of happiness.
Denmark, Finland, Norway and The Netherlands dominated the list, with Canada the only North American country to make the top ten, coming in at number five.
Switzerland and Sweden fill spots six and seven ahead of New Zealand and Australia, with Ireland rounding out the top ten.
Despite the old saying, it appears money can buy happiness.
The world's happiest countries also happen to be its richest and have the highest standards of living and job security.
The report also found unemployment causes as much distress as personal bereavement or separation, which may explain why the economic basket cases in southern Europe failed to crack the top 20.
Other factors in your degree of happiness include your levels of personal freedom, solid relationships, a happy personal life and the absence of corruption.
The report also found women are happier than men, and the least happy periods of life come during middle age.
The US made the list at number 11, while Great Britain only managed to come in behind Israel and the United Arab Emirates at 18.
War torn nations in sub-Saharan Africa such as Togo, Benin, Central African Republic and Sierra Leone were at the bottom of the list.
