The World Happiness Report 2019 has been released, ranking 156 countries on a scale of global happiness. And India is nowhere in the Top 10, or Top 50 or even Top 100.
According to the survey, Finland is the happiest country with a score of 7.769 out of 10. It is followed by Denmark and Norway, whereas India ranks 140 on the list, with 4.015.
In 2018, India ranked 133 on the survey and 122 in 2017.
In this year’s report, UK comes in at the 15th position, whereas the United States ranks 19. Pakistan holds the 67th position with a score of 5.653. Haiti, Botswana and Syria are at the bottom of the list.
The report focuses on happiness and the community. It focuses on the ‘technologies, social norms, conflicts and government policies’ that have changed and evolved the idea of happiness.
According to Meik Wiking, CEO of the Copenhagen-based Happiness Research Institute, the happiness scale is derived from a conjunction of both ‘personal freedom and social security’. This compensates for having to pay ‘some of the highest taxes in the world’.
This is the 7th World Happiness Report. The first was released in support of a UN High level meeting on ‘Wellbeing and Happiness’ in April 2012.