EIGHTH HAPPIEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD: ISRAEL - (USA IS 14)

Israel world's 8th happiest country

Money buys happiness; Scandinavians top list, Africans end it.

Israel is tied with Canada, Switzerland, and Australia as the world's eighth happiest country out of 155 surveyed, according to a Gallup World Poll posted by Forbes Thursday.

Forbes said the richest countries were by and large the happiest. Scandinavian countries dominated the list, with Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands taking all top five spots. African nations took up most of the bottom, with Sierra Leone, Cambodia (not African), Comoros, Buriundi, and Togo ranking as the unhappiest countries on earth.

Israel far outstripped its neighbors in happiness, with Jordan ranking 52, Lebanon 73, Egypt and Syria 115. The Palestinian Territories were 88 on the list.

The US ranked number 14 on the list, ahead of Britain, 17.

Iran came in at the middle, with 81. War-torn Iraq ranked 110, and Afghanistan 115.

The four-year survey asked thousands of respondents in the 155 countries to give a "life evaluation" score between one and ten, and cataloged their daily feelings to decide what percentage of people in each country were "thriving, struggling, or suffering." The survey was taken between 2005 and 2009.

ISRAEL IS HAPPY.

THE ISLAM DOMINATED NATIONS IN THE REGION ARE NOT SO HAPPY.

AS THE GUY SAID: "BY THEIR FRUITS SHALL YOU KNOW THEM."