I created graph above recently as an independent research exercise in the Coursera specialisation Applied Data Science with Python. It maps the 2018 United Nations World Happiness Report country scores against the same year’s Sustainable Development Index country scores. The correlation is clearly visible, even though a statistical correlation does not necessarily imply a causal relationship.
Finland is the top country in the happiness report, so the topmost blue market in the top right square – where all of the markets happen to represent Western European countries. On the bottom left squares most of the markets are green, representing Sub-Saharan countries. Perhaps the graph does tell something about the relationship between good governance and the perceived happiness of the country’s population. You can’t expect to copy Western European governance to the rest of the world, but there must be some positive lessons to learn from.