By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan has once again been adjudged as happiest nation in the region, leaving behind India and other countries of South Asia on the list of the world’s happiest countries, according to World Happiness Index 2018.
Pakistan moving 5 points up from 2017 on the happiness scale, ranked 75 on the index, coming in ahead of India (133), Bhutan (97), Bangladesh (115), and Sri Lanka (116). While China stood at 86th spot.
Finland is the world’s happiest country, according to an annual survey that found Americans were getting less happy even as their country became richer.
The United States came in at 18th, down from 14th place last year. Britain was 19th and the United Arab Emirates 20th.
Pakistan was ranked at 75 in the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s (SDSN) 2018 World Happiness Report which ranked 156 countries according to things such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.
While, India slipped 11 places as it was placed 122nd last year. It was behind the majority of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) nations, apart from war-ravaged Afghanistan, that stood at 145.
Jumping 5 spots from 2017, Pakistan is even happier this year. With a rank of 80, it had fared much better than India (122) and Bangladesh (110) last year as well.
Those countries are considered happy that have a healthy balance of prosperity, as conventionally measured, and social capital, meaning a high degree of trust in a society, low inequality, and confidence in government.
The aim of the report is to provide another tool for governments, business, and civil society to help their countries find a better way to wellbeing.
