Fledgling Democracies

This is a great post about yet another contentious breakaway-from-a-breakaway situation, this time involving Moldova and a region called Transnistria, along the border with Ukraine.

The blog, Human Goods, deals with human trafficking and mentions the practice of some villagers in the region selling their organs in the face of extreme poverty. The author also includes some great segments from a BBC series entitled “Places that don’t exist,” since Transnistria has not been recognized as a country by, well, anyone else.

The folks at the World Database of Happiness recently ranked 95 nations on a happiness scale, asking people to rate how happy they are between 1 (least happy) and 10 (most happy).

Unsurprisingly, Denmark and Switzerland topped the list with ratings of 8.1, while dreary former Soviet republic Moldova came in dead last, managing only a 3.5 rating.

Commentary by Forbes notes that per capita income in the former Soviet republic comes in at a measly $880 per year. We all know money can’t buy happiness, but such a severe shortage of it certainly doesn’t help.

Belarus, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are other former Soviet republics which keep Moldova company near the very bottom of the list.

Just FYI, Americans reported an average happiness rating of 7.3, giving us the 17th spot.