[jbenjoseph]

Driven especially by having the second most happiest youth. For one, Israel is an advanced country with mostly sunny weather. But the edge in my opinion is military/service culture produces a sense of self-actualization in the youth that is lacking in much of the West. Religion also makes people happy, and Israel is a pretty religious country.

[lucianbr]

Religion also gives people a somewhat higher than average chance of being murdered by people of a different religion. At least, that's how it seems to be in Israel / Palestine and actually that whole area.

I guess some people around there die happy, believing it is for a good cause, so there's no contradiction, at least not from their point of view.

I'd still rather take Norway or New Zealand.

[jbenjoseph]

Israel has amongst the highest life expectancies in the world and without the similar healthcare costs of other countries.

[invalidname]

Nope. Israel is one of the most secular countries around with more than 40% of the population defined as secular.

[maratc]

There's a difference between "Do you believe in [some sort or form of] God?" and "Do you regularly spend a significant part of your day doing what your God expects from you?"

To put that into perspective, imagine a Christian country with 40% of non-believers and 60% of monks (with the monks consistently reporting high levels of happiness). That would strongly remind of Israel. (To be clear, both Jewish and Muslim population is included in the latter.)

[jbenjoseph]

I disagree as an American who moved here. Many things are closed on Shabbat, including public transport! Nobody is driving on Yom Kippur. There is nothing like that in the world. Also that what in the diaspora we consider religious holidays are national holidays here. Israelis are used to all this and consider it part of their national culture, so maybe religious is not the best word. The Jewish identity has a big national component. Hilonim might not define themselves as religious still possess a profound Jewish identity which can come off as a religious identity to an outside observer.