Five things New Zealand could learn from Switzerland, the world’s least miserable country

Lorna Thornber is a travel reporter for Stuff.

OPINION: New Zealand apparently has a lot to learn from Switzerland, the least miserable country in the annual ‘misery index’ which compares countries’ economic conditions.

Aotearoa came in at number 104 on the index, up from 151 last year, suggesting that Kiwis were already a pretty miserable bunch and became even more so over the past year.

Steve Hanke, the John Hopkins University professor who compiled the index, said countries’ metrics can tell us a lot about how happy their people are.

“In the economic sphere, misery tends to flow from high inflation, steep borrowing costs, and unemployment. The surefire way to mitigate that misery is through economic growth.”

The index is compiled using data on unemployment, inflation, bank lending rates and the annual percentage change in GDP, but economic data doesn’t tell the whole story. Money doesn’t necessarily buy happiness after all.

Still, there’s a thing or few we Kiwis could learn from the Swiss when it comes to the pursuit of happiness. And, yes, that does include eating more chocolate and cheese.

How to manage our money

The Swiss are among the richest people on the planet with a GDP per capita of US$94,835 according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections. New Zealand, by contrast, has a GDP per capita of US$49,009.

Hanke said one reason Switzerland emerged the least miserable country on the list was the “Swiss debt brake”, which reigns in federal government spending. Designed to restrain and reduce the country’s debt load, the brake caps the growth rate of federal expenditure at the long-run potential growth rate of the country, and requires the government to balance its budget over time. A key benefit of reducing debt: The government pays less in interest payments, leaving it more to spend on essential services.

Hanke reckons Switzerland’s debt brake has “worked like a charm”.

“Unlike most countries, Switzerland’s debt-to-GDP ratio has been on a downward trend in the last two decades, since it enshrined its debt brake into its constitution in a 2002 national referendum,” he said. “In 2002, central-government debt stood at 29.7% of GDP, and by 2018 had been reduced to 18.7%. It’s hard to beat a democracy in which most major decisions can, if enough of the electorate insists, be put to a popular vote.”

Which brings us to our next point:

How to make citizens feel empowered

Switzerland is widely considered to have come closer than any other country in the world to pure – or direct – democracy, which enables citizens to vote directly on policy questions rather than let elected delegates decide.

Ordinary citizens can propose constitutional changes, referendums can be requested on any law, often leading to several a year, and its 26 cantons have a good deal of autonomy.

Whether or not we’d be any happier if the Joe and Josie Bloggs of Aotearoa had such power is a matter of debate, but we’d surely feel as though we had more of a say in how our nation’s story unfolds.

How to better protect the environment

While both Switzerland and New Zealand have a reputation for being clean and green and are aiming to be carbon-neutral by 2050, Switzerland has the edge when it comes to protecting its environment, Environmental Performance Index (EPI) data suggests.

Switzerland came in at number nine on the 2022 EPI index, developed by Yale and Columbia universities in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, while New Zealand sat in 26th place.

The index ranks 180 countries on 40 performance indicators across 11 categories, including air quality, sanitation and drinking water, waste management, biodiversity, water resource, ecosystem services, and climate change.

Switzerland scored particularly highly for waste management, converting an average 100,000 tonnes of waste into energy for the community each year.

Given both New Zealand and Switzerland are blessed in the looks department, you’d think their citizens would have extra incentive protect their natural assets. Not only would they be safeguarding those assets for generations to come, but boosting their own happiness in the process.

Studies have shown that exposure to nature can lower anxiety, improve mood and memory, and even make you kinder, more creative, and less concerned about the opinions of others.

As psychologist Jill Suttie wrote in an article for the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Magazine: “Findings on how nature improves our brains brings added legitimacy to the call for preserving natural spaces–both urban and wild–and for spending more time in nature in order to lead healthier, happier, and more creative lives.”

How to be more egalitarian

Switzerland hasn’t been involved in a war since 1847, which both saves on military spending and prevents the death and suffering that war inevitably brings. It does, however, have mandatory military service for men.

New Zealand, on the other hand, has participated in numerous international wars in the 20th and 21st centuries.

But Switzerland’s famous neutrality isn’t only useful on the battlefield. It likely leads to a more peaceful, open-minded society too.

To eat more chocolate and cheese

The Swiss eat more chocolate than any other nationality in the world, putting away 11.6kg each a year, according to 2021 Statista data.

This is perhaps unsurprising considering Switzerland is synonymous with quality chocolate, and even has a museum dedicated to the sweet brown stuff.

So why should we follow suit? Research has shown that chocolate causes the brain to release a cocktail of chemicals which promote happiness and pleasure while reducing depression and anxiety: endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin.

In addition, another famous Swiss foodstuff – cheese – contains tryptophan, an amino acid that’s been shown to ease stress.

Of course, there are less calorific ways to improve your mood, but few that taste as good.

It’s also worth noting that Switzerland has a lower obesity rate than New Zealand, with the Global Obesity Observatory reporting that 31.07% of adult males in New Zealand are obese, compared with just 23% in Switzerland. So it’s not a licence to overindulge.