It's official: if you want to live in the happiest city in the world, just move to Malaga. According to a recent study by the Happiness Research Institute, the Andalusian city is first in the ranking of the happiest places in the world because people smile there the most.
The study, carried out by Meik Wiking, the director of the institute, compared 20 different cities around the world and consisted of randomly watching people in the street and noting whether or not they smiled. It turns out that Malaga has the highest frequency of smiling people, with almost 14%. Wiking offers the explanation that people from Malaga usually walk around with others, rather than on their own. "People hardly smile when they’re alone. It's common to all the countries I've visited," he says.
Wiking has written a book publishing his findings called "Lykke, in Search of the Happiest People in the World”. ‘Lykke', which translates into 'happiness' in Wiking's mother tongue, Danish, is the new Scandinavian concept that is shaking up the world, replacing 'Hygge' as the new trendy watchword.
Second after Malaga is Milan, Italy; third is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; fourth is Copenhagen, Denmark; and the fifth most smiling city in the world is Madrid. Yes, there are two Spanish cities in the top 5 happiest places on the planet! It’s hardly surprising. The lifestyle Spanish people live is like no other – they’re always in the company of friends or family, or drinking a relaxing beer in a terraza with some pinchos and, of course, always smiling.
"I have observed thousands and thousands of people walking down the street, hundreds talking on the phone, dozens of people holding hands, even a guy who was sticking his finger up his nose," says Wiking, but he has never seen a happier town than Malaga. What are you waiting for? Get yourself down to Malaga and start living your best life (and if you can't, Madrid will do)!