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Here's what Norway and the other happiest countries in the world have in common

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Norwegian fans celebrate.
Artur Widak | NurPhoto | Getty Images

In a controversial statement this week, President Donald Trump highlighted Norway as the kind of country from which he'd like more emigrants to the United States. Many residents of Norway politely declined, according to Reuters, likely because "the Nordic country, one of the richest in the world by GDP per capita, was last year named the happiest nation on the planet."

Indeed, according to the United Nations' latest World Happiness Report, as covered by CBS News, the top 10 happiest countries are:

1. Norway
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Switzerland
5. Finland
6. Netherlands
7. Canada
8. New Zealand
9. Australia
10. Sweden

Those countries have one interesting thing in common: They're all highly taxed.

That's not a coincidence, says report co-author Jeffrey Sachs, who is also the director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He tells CBS that "happiness is a result of creating strong social foundations," and that if other nations prioritized "social trust" and "healthy lives," they could also find that their citizens become more content.

The top three happiest countries, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, are all among the highest taxed countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in terms of total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP. The widely enjoyed social benefits residents get in exchange for their taxes, such as universal health care, access to education and subsidized parental leave, could have something to do with the "strong social foundations" touted by Sachs.

Indeed, citizens' satisfaction is related to what they get for their tax dollars, Sachs tells CNBC Make It: "They are happy because these societies are not only prosperous but also with high equality, social trust and honesty of government. They enjoy long paid vacations, zero out-of-pocket costs of health care, zero or low tuition costs and quality public services for all."

He adds that, "by the way, they are also environmentally conscious and moving to become zero-emission economies."

As of 2014, in terms of total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP and measured per capita, Norway came in at No. 2 out of 35 countries ($37,682 USD), Denmark at No. 3 ($30,630 USD), and Iceland came in at No. 9 ($20,418 USD), according to the OECD.

Every country on the top 10 list paid more than the 2014 average ($14,916 USD), except one: New Zealand, which came in at $14,327 USD, about average, and about the same as the United States ($14,115).

Unlike Americans, however, residents of New Zealand enjoy the protection of a robust welfare state including a public health system, 18 weeks of subsidized parental leave and benefits for middle- and low-income families with young children.

The U.S. ranks No. 14 for happiness, significantly lower than its neighbor to the north, Canada.

This is an update of a previously published article.

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