India is one of the unhappiest countries, says World Happiness Report

The reports aim is to encourage governments to measure and improve their people's happiness.

GN Bureau | April 24, 2015


#World Happiness Report   #India   #Switzerland   #Canada   #Netherlands   #Sweden   #New Zealand   #Australia  

India is one of the unhappiest countries in the world. It ranks 117 out of the 158 countries in the third World Happiness Report. 

People who live in the happiest countries have longer life expectancies and more social support, experience more generosity, have more freedom to make life choices, have lower perceptions of corruption and have a higher gross domestic product per capita, the report shows.

The World Happiness Report 2015, released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations on Friday,  considers six variables—per capita gross domestic product (GDP), healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, generosity and the absence of corruption—to reach the score given on a scale 0 to 10, where 0 represents the worst possible life.

The top country in the list is Switzerland with a score of 7.587; India is at 4.565. March 20 is declared as World Happiness Day. It was Bhutans’s prime minister, who proposed the idea of a World Happiness Day to the United Nations in 2011.

Through the happiness report, the network hopes to encourage governments at every level to measure and improve their people's happiness.

"There is no single key to happiness," said Jeffrey Sachs, the network's director and an economics professor at Columbia University. "All of these countries do well in several ways. Being rich? That's good, but it's only a modest part of the story. Trusting society, having a government that ranks on low in corruption, a society where people are generous and volunteering -- all of these are important for happiness."

About 80% in younger age groups feel happy and women enjoy themselves more when they are below the age of 40.

Women have higher life evaluations than men in five of the eight global regions, including South Asia, but the freedom to make life choices for them is the lowest in South Asia.

Reported anger is significantly higher in the Middle East and North Africa at about 35%. The next highest incidence of anger is in South Asia, at an average rate of about 25% for both men and women.

The top 10 happiest places on Earth: 1 Switzerland, 2 Iceland, 3 Denmark, 4 Norway, 5 Canada, 6 Finland, 7 Netherlands (Holland), 8 Sweden, 9 New Zealand and 10 Australia.

Read Full Report: click here

Comments

 

Other News

CAG flags major fiscal lapses in Maharashtra

Maharashtra`s fiscal management has come under sharp scrutiny after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its State Finances Audit Report for 2024-25, flagged significant budgetary inefficiencies, accounting irregularities, understatement of key fiscal indicators and widespread governanc

The health sector research we are not doing

Some neglect is loud. This kind is quiet. It sits in research never commissioned, data never collected, questions never asked. In South Asia, that quiet has let the region’s worst health problems stay understudied, underfunded, and out of sight of those who could act.  

Study flags accessibility and last-mile challenges on Mumbai Metro Aqua Line

Mumbai Metro Line 3 (Aqua Line), the city`s first fully underground metro corridor and one of its largest public transport investments, represents a major engineering achievement and has been widely welcomed by commuters. However, the overall commuter experience continues to be constrained by accessibili

Centre intensifies preparedness as El Niño threat looms

Amid uncertainty in the southwest monsoon due to the potential impact of El Niño, the government is addressing the situation with comprehensive preparedness, a clear strategy, and strong ground-level action. While challenges remain, the entire system has been activated in advance and is working proa

India is crossing a climate threshold

On June 28, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 41.3°C, four degrees above the seasonal normal. But the “feels like” temperature, which factors in humidity, showed more than 51°C. What the body experienced was very different from what the thermometer recorded.  India`

The Geography of India’s inflation

India today finds itself in an unusual position. At a time when geopolitical conflicts, trade fragmentation, and supply-chain disruptions are reshaping the global economy, the country`s macroeconomic fundamentals remain relatively upwards. Growth remains among the highest in the world, inflation has larg





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter