Argentina, Colombia, & Mexico among the Top 10 Happiest Latin American Countries in the World

The WIN/Gallup International Association's annual end of year survey named Colombia as home to the happiest people in the world.

The survey polled more than 66,000 respondents from 86 countries, asking them, "In general, do you personally feel very happy, happy, neither happy nor unhappy, unhappy or very unhappy about your life?"

87 percent of Colombians have answered that they felt "happy" and only two percent of those surveyed said that they are unhappy, the study found. Colombia also scored a net happiness of 85 percent, which is twenty points higher than the global average and almost twice the score of the United States.

Other nations that have followed Colombia in the study's happiness index are as follows: Fiji (82 percent), Saudi Arabia (82 percent), Azerbaijan (81 percent), Vietnam (80 percent), Argentina (79 percent), Panama (79 percent), Mexico (76 percent), Ecuador (75 percent), and China and Iceland both at 74 percent. Note that aside from Colombia, four other Latin American countries also made it in the top 10 of the research.

The study also found the top 10 unhappiest countries. These are Iraq (with 12 percent net score of happiness), Tunisia (7 percent), Greece (9 percent), Afghanistan (14 percent), Palestinian Territories (15 percent), Ghana (24 percent), Hong Kong (24 percent), Bulgaria (30 percent), Congo (30 percent), and France/Italy (33 percent).

The research indicated that 45 percent of the world's population is optimistic about the economic outlook for 2016, 22 percent are pessimistic about the matter, and 28 percent think that the economy will remain the same.

This was not the first time that Colombia won WIN-Gallup's happiest country recognition. The country also got the same honor in 2013 and 2014, according to Colombia Reports.

Earlier this month, President Juan Manuel Santos announced on Twitter that Rough Guides Magazine included the country in its top 10 places to visit this year, noting in the tweet that "the world sees us in a different light," as translated by Latin Times.

The Huffington Post listed some of the reasons why Colombia tops the happiness department. This includes the country's location, which attracts tourists because of its access to both the Atlantic (Caribbean Sea) and the Pacific Ocean. Aside from tropical beaches, Colombia also has mountains, grasslands, deserts, and the Amazon rainforest.

Other possible reasons why Colombians are the happiest in the world are their love for football, the tropical weather, their delicious and rich cuisine, festivals, and its numerous national holidays -- a clear sign that the country's citizens value rest and recreation to maintain their physical and mental health, The Huffington Post wrote.