NPR

How Happy Is The Country With The Biggest Gains In Happiness?

Togo ranked last in 2015's World Happiness Report. This year, it moved up 17 spots — the most improved country in the world. What's the perspective from the ground?
A woman carries water at Kparatao village, near Tchamba in the northern region of Togo.

This year's World Happiness Report doesn't have too many surprises — Scandinavian countries occupy many of the smiliest slots. But there's a West African country that's getting rave reviews for its happiness. Togo, which ranked at the very bottom of the 2015 World Happiness Report, comes in this year as the "biggest gainer," the report says. That means Togo is the country with the most-improved level of happiness in the world.

The numbers — from in-person polling in Africa, according to Gallup's — quantify happiness using "." Participants imagine a ladder with ten rungs representing the

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