The world's happiest teens live — no, not in Japan — in the Dominican Republic. It's a beautiful Caribbean country, much and justly beloved by tourists yet plagued by poverty, crime, child marriage, teen pregnancy and inadequate education. Tourists needn't worry about that, but local kids, you'd think, would be keenly aware of it. What are they so happy about?
And what are Japanese teens so unhappy about?
The questions arise from an OECD survey done in 2015 and published last year. It asked 15-year-olds in 47 countries whether they were satisfied with their lives. Yes, said 67.8 percent of Dominican kids, 58.5 percent of Mexican kids, 50.9 percent of Costa Rican kids. Colombia (50.9 percent) and Montenegro (50.1 percent) round out the top five.
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