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This Is The Income Needed To Be 'Happy' Around The World

In most countries, the average worker still earns less than the income researchers associate with peak reported well-being.

Research on income and well-being has identified a “satiation point,” an income level beyond which additional earnings no longer improve reported happiness. But how close does the average worker come to reaching that threshold?

An analysis from Remitly calculated the price of happiness in economies around the world and compared it with average local wages.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, ranks the 50 countries where average annual income comes closest to that threshold.

The analysis is based on Purdue University‘s income satiation research and data from the International Labour Organization, adjusted for purchasing power, inflation, and currency exchange rates.

Slovenia Is the Only Country Where Wages Exceed the Threshold

Slovenia stands alone among the 50 countries analyzed. Its average wage of $42,800 is 16.3% higher than its estimated price of happiness of $36,800, meaning the typical worker earns more than the income associated with peak reported well-being.

No other country crosses that line. Luxembourg comes closest, with wages covering 92.8% of its $118,400 happiness threshold, followed by Estonia (90.5%), Singapore (90.0%), and Lithuania (89.2%).

The data table below shows the average annual wage and price of happiness in each country, along with how close wages come to reaching that threshold:

Rank Country Average Annual Wage Price of Happiness Wage as % of Price of Happiness 1 🇸🇮 Slovenia $37,000 $43,000 116.3% 2 🇱🇺 Luxembourg $110,000 $118,000 92.8% 3 🇪🇪 Estonia $38,000 $42,000 90.5% 4 🇸🇬 Singapore $49,000 $55,000 90.0% 5 🇱🇹 Lithuania $30,000 $33,000 89.2% 6 🇨🇿 Czechia $33,000 $38,000 87.8% 7 🇱🇻 Latvia $30,000 $36,000 84.7% 8 🇬🇷 Greece $28,000 $35,000 79.7% 9 🇧🇪 Belgium $88,000 $111,000 79.1% 10 🇷🇴 Romania $21,000 $27,000 76.3% 11 🇵🇱 Poland $24,000 $32,000 74.5% 12 🇩🇰 Denmark $82,000 $122,000 66.8% 13 🇲🇹 Malta $54,000 $81,000 66.2% 14 🇳🇱 Netherlands $76,000 $117,000 64.8% 15 🇳🇴 Norway $77,000 $121,000 64.2% 16 🇩🇪 Germany $67,000 $106,000 63.1% 17 🇮🇪 Ireland $67,000 $109,000 61.4% 18 🇨🇱 Chile $13,000 $22,000 60.9% 19 🇦🇹 Austria $70,000 $115,000 60.6% 20 🇫🇮 Finland $69,000 $116,000 59.2% 21 🇲🇪 Montenegro $14,000 $24,000 58.4% 22 🇫🇷 France $59,000 $104,000 57.4% 23 🇨🇭 Switzerland $87,000 $155,000 56.4% 24 🇷🇸 Serbia $15,000 $27,000 56.2% 25 🇺🇸 United States $75,000 $135,000 55.8% 26 🇨🇷 Costa Rica $16,000 $29,000 54.1% 27 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina $12,000 $23,000 53.0% 28 🇭🇺 Hungary $16,000 $30,000 52.3% 29 🇶🇦 Qatar $42,000 $82,000 51.2% 30 🇮🇹 Italy $46,000 $94,000 49.2% 31 🇸🇰 Slovakia $19,000 $39,000 48.9% 32 🇪🇸 Spain $43,000 $88,000 48.4% 33 🇰🇷 South Korea $35,000 $74,000 48.0% 34 🇸🇪 Sweden $56,000 $118,000 47.4% 35 🇨🇦 Canada $51,000 $114,000 44.4% 36 🇺🇾 Uruguay $15,000 $35,000 43.9% 37 🇲🇺 Mauritius $8,000 $19,000 43.2% 38 🇨🇾 Cyprus $37,000 $94,000 39.4% 39 🇦🇺 Australia $59,000 $161,000 36.6% 40 🇧🇷 Brazil $8,000 $21,000 36.4% 41 🇧🇴 Bolivia $6,000 $15,000 36.1% 42 🇦🇷 Argentina $7,000 $20,000 36.1% 43 🇬🇧 United Kingdom $43,000 $120,000 35.9% 44 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia $23,000 $65,000 35.5% 45 🇦🇱 Albania $10,000 $28,000 34.8% 46 🇨🇴 Colombia $6,000 $18,000 34.7% 47 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic $6,000 $18,000 34.0% 48 🇳🇿 New Zealand $47,000 $137,000 34.0% 49 🇵🇾 Paraguay $6,000 $19,000 33.7% 50 🇪🇨 Ecuador $7,000 $20,000 32.9%

Central and Eastern European countries occupy seven of the top 11 spots, including Estonia, Lithuania, Czechia, Latvia, Greece, Romania, and Poland.

Their wages are modest by global standards, but their estimated happiness thresholds are also comparatively low, keeping the gap between the two smaller. A similar pattern appears in Where Wages Go Furthest Around the World, where several of the same economies rank highly for purchasing power.

High Wages Do Not Guarantee a Smaller Gap

The United States has the third-highest average wage in the study at $75,300, but it also has one of the highest prices of happiness at $134,800. As a result, wages cover just 55.8% of the threshold.

Australia has the highest price of happiness in the ranking at $161,300, more than double its average wage of $59,000. With wages covering 36.6% of the threshold, the country ranks 39th overall.

The United Kingdom (35.9%), Canada (44.4%), and New Zealand (34.0%) show a similar pattern. Despite relatively high wages, workers in these countries remain further from the income associated with peak well-being than those in several lower-wage economies in Central and Eastern Europe.

Ecuador ranks last among the 50 countries measured, with an average wage of $6,500 covering 32.9% of its $19,700 price of happiness.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Money Can Buy Happiness After All on Voronoi.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/06/2026 - 02:45

South Korean police raided the headquarters of Starbucks’ local operation as part of an investigation into a controversial marketing campaign that was perceived as defaming 1980s' pro-democracy movements.

Investigators say the confrontation began after Simpson claimed the group was diving in "his spot" and warned that a larger boat was on its way before it arrived and anchored nearby.

"I had no idea that my brother was gonna save my wife's life 20 years later."

Why On Earth Are They Doing This?

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

The Spanish Red Cross is treating the military-age men who swam around the border fence and stormed Ceuta like victims of an earthquake.

Volunteers in red vests are lining up on the sand at Playa del Trampolín, handing out bread, milk, biscuits, water, cans of tuna and pastries to the thousands who remain after last week's deliberate mass invasion from Morocco. Police stand by to keep the queues orderly while the same people who refused to go home sit and eat.

This is not a natural disaster. These men crossed into Spanish territory because the opportunity was created for them. There is nothing stopping Spanish authorities from sending them straight back. Instead the humanitarian apparatus has arrived with supplies.

The Red Cross is now handing out food and supplies to illegals in Ceuta as if they're victims of a natural disaster. They literally swam the coastline and invaded Spain because they felt like it and there is nothing preventing them from being sent home. pic.twitter.com/eAruK5wyiy

— m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) August 4, 2026

Cadena SER and local outlets confirmed the first organised distribution of food since the crisis began. Cruz Roja and the local branch of Cooperación Sur-Sur handed out the packages to around 2,000 migrants, the majority from sub-Saharan Africa.

???? Red Cross in Ceuta handing out food and water to the migrants who just stormed Spanish territory.

Locals are furious and it's hard to blame them.

Carrots don't keep people away, sticks do...

Writer: Samuelpic.twitter.com/hanliozVRk

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 4, 2026

National Police managed the lines so the recipients stayed seated until their turn, then returned to the beach to eat. One Nigerian man named Genesis told reporters he was "happy to finally have something to eat and drink." He said he had been trying to cross for months and now hopes for asylum.

African Migrants in Ceuta Complain About Treatment: 'No Food, No Blankets' pic.twitter.com/RmWGWe2oVA

— New York Post (@nypost) August 3, 2026

A Sudanese man named Malik Alher said he had gone five days without food, then added that he wants to "learn Spanish, live in Madrid and work in a supermarket."

The volunteers doing the handing-out look exactly like the usual crowd: white European leftist women. Locals watching the scene are furious, and for good reason. Feeding the people who just overran your city does not encourage them to leave.

This comes after Spanish officials spent days insisting the problem had solved itself. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares claimed the "practical totality" of those who entered had returned to Morocco.

The Spanish Embassy in London repeated the line. Reality on the ground never matched the press releases. Streets remained full, facilities were stormed, and thousands simply stayed put on the beaches and around the CETI reception centre.

Local estimates of those left behind ranged from 2,000 to 15,000. But it's anyone's guess. Many of the remaining group are now openly declaring they will not go back. They are waiting for the next step toward the Spanish mainland and the wider European welfare systems.

?? A Spanish soldier in Ceuta said they are now ordered only to direct illegal migrants toward the border so they leave the country on their own.

"Right now we are not allowed to do anything else," the soldier has said.

For him, it is a personal sorrow what Sánchez's... https://t.co/nwDPZjRFyB pic.twitter.com/U19WqDSij5

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 4, 2026

Muslim Invaders Chanting "Allahu Akbar" Have OVERTAKEN The Streets of Ceuta.

Police are completely overwhelmed.

The government wants you to think this isn't happening.

We are witnessing the total collapse of a nation. https://t.co/9VhvDWSP3A

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 3, 2026

The situation in Ceuta:

Thousands of invaders still remain. They've taken to forested areas around the city to avoid being captured.

Their goal now is to get on boats to the Spanish mainland. Social media is also full of calls by illegals to stage another mass invasion on the... pic.twitter.com/Q8JBQPwN36

— ???? ???? ?? ?? (@NiohBerg) August 4, 2026

Auf der marokkanischen Seite an der Grenze zu Ceuta warten Schwarzafrikaner auf ihre Weiterreise in die EU. Sie werden von den Behörden zurückgehalten, damit zuerst die Marokkaner nach Spanien eindringen können.

Sie nennen es "Zwischenhaltungs-Internatzentrum".

Das Video ist... pic.twitter.com/U8idHK1VAo

— ???? (@queru_lant) August 1, 2026

Some, have already been sent to mainland Spain.

?? Dozens of migrants were allegedly transferred from Ceuta to Andalusia, mainland Spain today.

Follow: @europa pic.twitter.com/BU0F9vJm21

— Europa.com (@europa) August 4, 2026

Vox leader Santiago Abascal has called the episode an "invasion and an act of war promoted by Morocco and allowed by Sánchez." He demanded the prime minister face legal proceedings.

Muslim Invaders in Ceuta are now BURNING the Countryside as they Continue TAKE OVER the Streets.

This is total chaos and collapse of a country.

It looks like a literal zombie apocalypse. pic.twitter.com/6GqklXUK4n

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 3, 2026

The People's Party has accused Sánchez of being on holiday while sovereignty was tested. Ceuta's own president Juan Jesús Vivas described the situation as "absolutely unsustainable" for a city of just 83,000.

Handing out free meals does not change the fundamental facts. These men were not shipwrecked, they did not come from a war zone. They walked and swam into Spanish territory in a coordinated surge that Morocco facilitated and Spain failed to stop.

Every ration distributed on that beach signals that the cost of illegal entry will be met with care packages rather than immediate removal. Carrots do not deter the next wave. Only the credible threat of being sent straight home does.

Spain's government can still choose enforcement over theatre. Until it does, the Red Cross will keep unpacking boxes for the people who invaded, and the residents of Ceuta will keep watching their city turned into a holding pen for those who refuse to leave.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/06/2026 - 02:00

Two men accused of drugging and killing an American Airlines flight attendant during a layover in Colombia have been arrested months after the slaying, authorities said, with the suspects allegedly tied to a gang known to prey on tourists.

Keith Lott, 47, tragically died while while having sex with his wife, Brook, at their Swedesboro home on May 16, NJ.com reported. Paramedics attempted CPR and shocked his heart several times while they rushed Lott to a nearby hospital.

Mills, who is currently being probed by House Ethics Committee over “serious and complex” accusations, including domestic assault, was defiant throughout the debate and vehemently denied the allegations, which his opponents argued could put Democrats in position to win in November should the incumbent congressman make it out of the primary. 

As weather events become more extreme, fake videos are being shared rapidly online, and it’s causing real world problems in China.

He's a true Winner.

Schmidt, who had to cut short a live batting practice Tuesday because of what he believed and hoped was cramping in his forearm, was informed it indeed “seems like” it was cramping, Aaron Boone said. 

An infected guest spent 11 hours at the park, sparking a public health warning for park visitors.

Someone is going to be sent to the bullpen, and Will Warren didn’t help his cause to avoid that fate Wednesday night. 

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The deal is fully guaranteed and does not include any options.

There is something real afoot in the American League East, something genuine.

SAN DIEGO — Rashawn Slater was back on the field Wednesday as the Chargers held their second training camp practice in their former home city, and the collective sigh of relief stretched from Coronado Beach to Los Angeles. Disaster averted. Crisis avoided. Everyone could exhale. For now. The Chargers’ Rashawn Slater avoided serious injury during...

And yet this is the same Yankees problem, the offense lacking a pulse without the heart of the team.

Jorge Polanco, who arrived on a two-year contract worth $40 million, has dealt with Achilles and wrist injuries that have limited him to 30 games this season.

The West Is Winning The Information War While Russia Prevails On The Battlefield

Authored by former CIA officer Larry Johnson

I stumbled across something pretty bizarre today when I queried one of the AI-search engines about Russia’s capture of territory in Ukraine in 2026. Here is what the Chinese KIMI claimed:

The evidence from multiple sources — including Ukrainian official claims, Western think tanks, and Ukrainian independent trackers — suggests that Ukraine recaptured substantially more territory than Russia captured during the first half of 2026, driven by the southern counteroffensive. However, the pace of Ukrainian gains has slowed since spring, and Russia has made small net gains in recent months (June–July). The overall net for the full year so far appears to still favor Ukraine, but the margin and the exact numbers depend heavily on whose methodology you use.

There you have it… Ukraine is winning the war on the ground according to AI. Let me emphasize that you will find this same propaganda on GROK or Claude. The Western propaganda effort is paying dividends on the information operation side of the house. Even the Chinese-coders who created KIMI are pushing Western propaganda.

via Al Jazeera

So let me give you the actual rundown for 2026. Russia started 2026 with Gerasimov’s report to Putin announcing the liberation of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) — the Donetsk logistics hub under siege for nearly two years — and of Vovchansk in Kharkiv. Through November of 2025 the MoD had reported a steady run of captures, including Petrovskoye in the DPR and Tikhoye and Otradnoye in Dnepropetrovsk.

Moving into the spring of 2026, TASS reported that Russian forces liberated 63 settlements from March through May 2026 — 20 in March, 16 in April, and 27 in May, the strongest month. The regional breakdown was 21 in Kharkiv Region, 19 in the DPR, 14 in Sumy, six in Zaporozhye, and three in Dnepropetrovsk. The Sumy and Kharkiv gains are framed by Moscow as building a “security zone” along the Russian border.

By early summer (June), Gerasimov reported that Russian forces were continuing the liberation of “Donbass and Novorossiya,” advancing on all fronts. The 3rd Army was advancing toward Slavyansk and Kramatorsk — liberating Piskunovka, reaching the outskirts of Nikolayevka, and reported to be less than 5 km from the eastern edge of Kramatorsk, with the capture of Krasny Liman (Lyman) said to be due soon.

Battlegroup West advanced on a broad front; in the Kupyansk area, having repelled Ukrainian attempts to break through to western Kupyansk, with assault units pushing west toward Shevchenkovo. In the Dobropolye area north of Krasnoarmeysk, fighting in Dobropolye and Annovka, with Lenina (Ukrainian name Mirnoye) taken and Shevchenko, Krasnoyarskoye, and Svetloye reported as liberated.

In July TASS counted 32 settlements liberated, with 22 of them — over 68 percent — in Kharkiv Region and the DPR. By battlegroup: North took ten, Center eight, West six, East five, and South three, and the month’s most significant developments were the liberation of Konstantinovka in the DPR by Battlegroup East and the capture of Belitskoye by Battlegroup Center. Konstantinovka is one of the four Donetsk fortress belt cities.

At present the Russians are driving on the last major Ukrainian-held Donetsk agglomeration — the Konstantinovka–Druzhkovka–Kramatorsk–Slavyansk belt — alongside the Sumy/Kharkiv border zone and consolidation in Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk.

Along with the ground operations in eastern Ukraine, Russia has ended Ukraine's ability to conduct maritime and trade operations from Odessa and Nikolaev since July 22nd.

Zelensky’s decision to strike Russian shipping in the Azov Sea made for some good pr for a few days during the big “Ukraine Turning The Tide” campaign, and triggered the expected Russian response, which is magnitudes more damaging to Ukraine. Stupid beyond belief. https://t.co/SIUDo2LtP5

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 5, 2026

Ukrainian farmers will not be able to export products via the Black Sea ports and western supplies, which once flowed freely through Odessa. Ukraine’s maritime lifeline is severed and will not be in operation until after the war with Ukraine is over.

Finally, there is the daily Russian missile and drone attacks on Kiev and other key Ukrainian logistics and military hubs. The destruction of factories and warehouses is effectively bleeding Ukraine dry. The West persists in painting the war in Ukraine as a crusade that sits on the threshold of victory, but the realities on the ground tell a dramatically different, grim story… Ukraine is losing.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/05/2026 - 23:25