This is a weekly series on the latest happiness research. Learn and be merry! 

Howdy, mate – Australia was ranked as the happiest industrialized nation in a study by the OECD. This is the fourth year it claimed the title.

40s and fabulous – Middle-aged people (over 45) are the happiest group in the UK, according to a recent study. 60 percent said they were content, which the researchers attribute to strong relationships with friends and family (83 percent).

Becuase I’m geeky – Professionals in the tech industry have the happiest careers, according to a ranking by CareerBliss. The three happiest jobs were Java developer, embedded software engineer, and .NET developer.

Forget good fences: A study in Wales showed that people with neighbors who help each other out had a 42% chance of rating their happiness as a 9 or 10.

Splurge away – Owning luxury items, particularly pens and chocolate, does increase life satisfaction. But simply using them without owning them – just tasting the chocolate? – is associated with lower satisfaction. In other news, French women recently rated chocolate as better than sex.

Close the door on your way out – People with private offices are more satsified at work than people with open-plan offices or cubicles, reported a study from the University of Sydney.

Grab the vacuum – Newlyweds who share chores equally are more likely to stay happily married, reported a study out of the University of Illinois.

Photo by Flickr user St3f4n