Happiness, unlike cost of living or exchange rates, is a difficult thing to measure, but one initiative at the United Nations thinks it can get close to figuring it out. In honor of the International Day of Happiness on March 20, the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network has published the 2018 World Happiness Report—an annual study that examines the connections between happiness and development (while encouraging policymakers to place more of an emphasis on happiness, rather than the more easily quantifiable measures of development). Around 1,000 people in every U.N. member state rate their quality of life on a scale from 0 to 10, while researchers cull data from six areas—GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support, trust and corruption, perceived freedom to make life decisions, and generosity. While you may not be lucky enough to find yourself in one of these blisstopias today, we still recommend slapping a smile on your face and paying it forward. (This gallery was originally published in 2016. It has been updated with new information.)

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