With July Fourth just around the corner, Americans are reminded that the Declaration of Independence named the pursuit of happiness as one of our unalienable rights. So how are we doing in that regard? Quite well, it turns out, even though we are still pursuing bliss.

A timely survey funded by the National Science Foundation places the United States as the 16th happiest nation among 97 countries ranked from happiest to least happiest (www.nsf.gov).

The happiest country was Denmark, followed by Puerto Rico and Colombia (a strange result that, given the narco-guerrillas and kidnappings). We are not as happy as the Irish, No. 5 on the list, or the Canadians (No. 9). But we are happier than the Australians, No. 22, who are supposed to have "no worries, mate." In fact, we are happier than lots of countries, including 19 that rank as unhappy. The unhappiest country in the world? Zimbabwe (see editorial above).

The World Values Survey data will be in the July issue of the journal "Perspectives on Psychological Science." As it turns out, happiness is on the rise around the world, as revealed by data from 1981 to 2007.

But what about the United States, where political grumbling is widespread? Ronald Inglehart, a political scientist at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor who directs the survey, explains: "Americans' dissatisfaction with the country's current direction pulls down their sense of subjective well-being. But this is partly offset by other factors. The fact that Americans live in a free and tolerant society has more impact on happiness than economic prosperity or even additional income."

Good words for July Fourth. On the other hand, maybe we are just fat and happy.