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No. 8: Netherlands

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No. 8: Netherlands

Population: 16,654,313
Life Expectancy: 79
GDP Per Capita: $38,500

Europe's most densely populated country, the Netherlands' famously liberal approach to recreational drugs, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia make it the most socially tolerant society in the world—a factor that may contribute to its ranking as the eighth-happiest. Religion, on the other hand, plays little role: Fewer than 20% of people go to church in what has become a largely secular country. Unemployment is the lowest in Europe, and the U.N. Children's Fund ranks the Netherlands first in the world for child well-being.