ISLAMABAD – India ranked 133rd in the global list of the happiestcountries, coming after terror-riven Pakistan and poorest-of-poor Nepal,according to a UN report released on Wednesday.
India dropped 11 places from its previous rank of 122 in the list of 156countries and was behind the majority of South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation (SAARC) nations, apart from war-ravaged Afghanistan,that stood at 145.
The annual World Happiness Report was released ahead of the InternationalDay of Happiness on March 20.
Among the eight SAARC nations, Pakistan was at 75, Bhutan at 97, Nepal at101, Bangladesh at 115 while Sri Lanka was ranked 116. However, Maldivesdid not figure in the World Happiness Report.Finland topped the list that combines economic, health and polling datacompiled by economists that are averaged over three years from 2015 to 2017.
Taking the harsh, dark winters in their stride, Finns said access tonature, safety, childcare, good schools and free healthcare were among thebest things about in their country.
“I’ve joked with the other Americans that we are living the American dreamhere in Finland,” said Brianna Owens, who moved from the United States andis now a teacher in Espoo, Finland’s second biggest city with a populationof around 280,000.
“I think everything in this society is set up for people to be successful,starting with university and transportation that works really well,” Owenstold Reuters.
Finland rose from fifth place last year to oust Norway from the top spot.The 2018 top-10, as ever dominated by the Nordics, are Finland, Norway,Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden andAustralia.Studying happiness may seem frivolous, but serious academics have long beencalling for more testing about people’s emotional well-being, especially inthe United States.
In 2013, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report recommending thatfederal statistics and surveys, which normally deal with income, spending,health and housing, include a few extra questions on happiness because itwould lead to better policy that affects people’s lives.
The United States came in at 18th, down from 14th place last year. Britainwas 19th and the United Arab Emirates 20th.
One chapter of the 170-page report is dedicated to emerging health problemssuch as obesity, depression and the opioid crisis, particularly in theUnited States where the prevalence of all three has grown faster than inmost other countries.