According to a British think-tank report, the little South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu pulled a Cinderella-style victory in this year’s Happiest Country on Earth index. Ranked #1 in terms of life satisfaction, life expectancy, and environmental footprint, Vanuatu eked out a victory over other top 5 contenders Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominica and Panama.

But what about the Industrial giants and so-called firs-world nations? Germany placed 81st, while Japan (95), France (129), America (150) and Russia (172) struggled to keep up.  And while stealing the top seed might have further widened a few of the locals’ grins, some of the responses have been pretty endearing.

“Don’t tell too many people, please,” said Marke Lowen of Vanuatu Online, the republic’s online newspaper.

“This is not a consumer-driven society. Life here is about community and family and goodwill to other people. It’s a place where you don’t worry too much… The only things we fear are cyclones or earthquakes.”   (link via Yahoo News)