Context: In the recently published UN-sponsored World Happiness Report, India ranked 126, the same as last year, in the happiness index.

• The top 10 happiness rankings (worldwide): Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia

• The top 10 happiness rankings (Asia): Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, China and Mongolia

Key Findings related to India

• India ranked 126th while China ranked 60th, Nepal at 93, Pakistan at 108, Myanmar at 118, Sri Lanka at 128 and Bangladesh at 129th spots.

• Happiness in young people (aged 30 and below): India ranked at 127th spot in this.

• Happiness in old people (aged 60 and above): India occupying the 121st spot. 

• The report observed that in India, older age is associated with higher life satisfaction. However, older Indian women reported lower life satisfaction than older men, it added. 

• Education and caste played key roles, with older adults with secondary or higher education and those of higher social castes reporting higher life satisfaction than their counterparts without formal education and those from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes

Global Findings

• As expected, Finland topped the list for the seventh year in a row, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. Israel too made it to the top five of the ranking. 

• Meanwhile, Afghanistan was deemed as the least happy country, after Congo, Sierra Leone, Lesotho and Lebanon.

• The United States fell in ranking from 16th spot last year to the 23rd spot this year. This year, Canada took the 15th spot while the UK was at the 20, Germany at 24 and France at 27. 

• Among Middle Eastern nations, the UAE was ranked at 22 and Saudi Arabia at 28. 

• Among Asian nations, Singapore was at 30, Japan at 50 and South Korea at 51.

• Worldwide, women were less happy than men in every region, with the gender gap widening as they aged, said the report.

• While ranking happiness in young people (aged 30 and below), Lithuania, Israel, Serbia, Iceland and Denmark ranked in the top five slots, with Finland being delegated to the seventh rank.

• However, when it came to ranking happiness in old people (aged 60 and above), Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland — all Nordic nations — ranked the highest. “Countries ranking highest for the old are generally countries with high overall rankings, but include several where the young have recently fared very poorly,” the report observed.

About World Happiness Report

• The World Happiness Report is a publication released annually by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. 

• The happiness ranking is based on individuals' self-assessed evaluations of life satisfaction, as well as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and corruption.

• It is supported by taking the average life evaluation data gathered by the Gallup polls for the 2021-23 period.

United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network

• The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has been operating since 2012 under the UN Secretary-General.

• SDSN mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.