Of course, Moldova isn't anywhere near that point yet. But poverty can't be the whole story. There are countries even poorer than Moldova which are nonetheless much happier: Nigeria and Bangladesh, for example, have a lower average income than Moldova but their happiness rates are 81% and 85% respectively. Brazilians are only slightly better off than Moldovans, but 83% of them are happy. A whopping 93% of people in the Philippines consider themselves happy, despite income levels on a par with Moldova.