Strangers are about twice as kind as people think, according to a UN-backed report on global happiness.
Researchers for the World Happiness Report used lost wallets as an experiment to measure people’s expectations versus reality when it came to the kindness of strangers.
They found that people returned lost wallets at double the rate members of the public thought they would.
Believing in the kindness of strangers also had a much bigger impact on happiness than previously thought.
It even had a bigger impact on happiness than actual or expected harm.
“The wallet data are so convincing because they confirm that people are much happier living where they think people care about each other,” said John F Helliwell, an economist at the University of British Columbia and a founding editor of the World Happiness Report.
“The wallet dropping experiments confirm the reality of these perceptions, even if they are everywhere too pessimistic.”
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Nordic nations topped the ranking of the world’s happiest countries but also ranked the highest for expected and actual return of lost wallets.
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The UK ranked 23rd out of 147 countries and recorded its lowest average score since reporting began in 2017.
The report suggested that declining happiness and social trust in the US and parts of Europe may explain the rise of political polarisation and anti-system votes.
The United States fell to its lowest happiness ranking ever, coming in 24th.
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Researchers suggested this was partly due to a rise in the number of Americans eating their meals alone.
While sharing meals with other people is strongly linked with wellbeing around the world, the number of people dining alone in America has increased 53% over the past two decades.
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“The findings in this year’s World Happiness Report reconfirm a fundamental truth: happiness is rooted in trust, kindness, and social connection,” said Jeffrey D Sachs, president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network who was a founding editor of the report.
“It is up to us as virtuous individuals and citizens to translate this vital truth into positive action, thereby fostering peace, civility, and wellbeing in communities worldwide.”
