Can Money Buy Happiness? Study Reveals the Salary Filipinos Need to be Happy

Is it really true that money can’t buy happiness? 

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Expensivity revealed that Filipinos need P130,000 a month (or around $28,000 annually) to be happy.

The consumer website calculated the “happiness premium” for each country. To arrive at these figures, purchasing ratios from the World Bank, local cost of living data for each country, and estimates from Purdue University were used.

With the Philippines’ happiness premium set at ₱130,000 per month, the reality is far from this figure for most Filipinos.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the average annual income of Filipino families in 2023 was estimated at ₱353,000, or around ₱29,000 per month—only 22% of the ₱130,000 happiness premium.

Here are the top ten countries with the highest price of happiness:

1. Bermuda – $143,933
2. Australia – $135,321
3. Israel – $130,457
4. Switzerland – $128,969
5. New Zealand – $128,844
6. Norway – $114,147
7. Denmark – $109,142
8. Japan – $107,587
9. Iceland – $107,351
10. United States – $105,000

Meanwhile, here are the top ten countries with the lowest price of happiness:

1. Suriname – $6,799
2. Argentina – $8,778
3. Angola – $8,921
4. Kyrgyzstan – $8,997
5. Iran (Islamic Republic) – $10,134
6. Zambia – $10,224
7. Sierra Leone – $10,498
8. Ethiopia – $10,681
9. Turkey – $10,742
10. Nicaragua – $11,273

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