Smile - the world has become a happier place

South Africans are happy but, interestingly, war-weary Libyans are even happier.

This is one of the findings of the first World Happiness Report, launched at the UN's Conference on Happiness this week.

Published by Columbia University's Earth Institute, the report found that unemployment caused as much unhappiness as bereavement or separation. Job security and good relationships in the workplace did more for job satisfaction than higher salaries.

From the research, which involved 156 countries, it would seem that northern European folk are the happiest. Denmark finished first, followed by Finland, Norway and The Netherlands.

"Their average life evaluation score is 7.6 on a 0-to-10 scale," the report said.

"The least happy countries are all poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Togo, Benin, Central African Republic and Sierra Leone), with average life evaluation scores of 3.4."

South Africa is the 90th-happiest country. Algeria, Libya and Tunisia arethe only African countries above Mzansi.

Researchers were quick to point out that it was not just wealth that brought about happiness. Factors such as political freedom, "strong social networks" and less corruption were more important than income.

"We live in an age of stark contradictions. The world enjoys technologies of unimaginable sophistication, yet has at least one billion people without enough to eat each day.

"The world economy is propelled to soaring new heights of productivity through ongoing technological and organisational advance, yet is relentlessly destroying the natural environment in the process," the report found.

"Countries achieve great progress in economic development as conventionally measured, yet along the way succumb to new crises of obesity, smoking, diabetes, depression and other ills of modern life."

The US was used as an example. It has achieved economic and technological progress in the past 50 years, but this has come without gains in the "self-reported happiness of citizenry".

Researchers said in the US uncertainty and anxiety were high, social trust was declining and confidence in the government was at its lowest point ever.

They claimed that, overall, the world had become a "little" happier in the past 30 years. In advanced countries, women are happier than men and happiness is lowest in middle age.