Pakistan is happier than India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh: UN report

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Pakistan is happier than India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh: UN report
PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan has left behind its neighbour India (again!) and other South Asian nations on the list of the world's happiest countries published by the United Nations.

According to the World Happiness Report 2017, released by the UN on the International Day of Happiness on March 20, Pakistan ranked 80 on the index, coming in ahead of India (122), Nepal (99), Bangladesh (110), Bhutan (97) and Sri Lanka (120).

Jumping 12 spots from 2016, Pakistan is even happier this year. With a rank of 92, it had fared much better than India (118) and Bangladesh (110) last year as well.

India, in contrast, slipped four slots from last year.

Norway displaced Denmark as the world's happiest country this year. The Nordic nations are the most content, showed the report, produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) – a global initiative launched by the UN in 2012.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, along with Syria and Yemen, are the least happy of the 155 countries ranked in the fifth annual report released by the UN.

"Happy countries are the ones 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," Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the SDSN and a special advisor to the UN Secretary-General, said.

The aim of the report, he added, is to provide another tool for governments, business, and civil society to help their countries find a better way to wellbeing.

Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden rounded out the top ten countries. South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Central African Republic were at the bottom.

The complete report can be read here.