World Happiness Report 2023
The 11th edition of the World Happiness Report was released by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
• Started since 2012
• The World Happiness Report is based on two key ideas:
o Happiness or life evaluation measured through opinion surveys
o Identifying key elements that determine well-being including levels of GDP, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, across countries.
150 countries surveyed on several factors such as
▪ Real GDP per capita,
▪ Social support,
▪ Healthy life expectancy,
▪ Freedom to make life choices,
▪ Generosity and
▪ Perceptions of corruption.
• The happiness movement shows that well-being is not a ‘soft’ and ‘vague’ idea but rather focuses on areas of life of critical importance: material conditions, mental and physical wealth, personal virtues, and good citizenship.
• Every year, each variable measures a populated-weighted average score on a scale of 0-10 that is tracked over a period of time and further compared with other countries.
Top Performers:
▪ Finland Tops (for the sixth consecutive year)
▪ Denmark
▪ Iceland
▪ Israel
▪ Sweden
Worst Performers:
▪ Afghanistan — ranked last
▪ Lebanon
▪ Zimbabwe
▪ Sierra Leone
▪ Democratic Republic of Congo
• India & its neighbors:
▪ India’s rank improved from 136 in 2022 to 126 this year,
▪ Sri Lanka (63), China (74) and Pakistan (108)
Rising resilience around the world:
▪ Between 2020 and 2022, the world saw a ‘remarkable’ rise in resilience, the SDSN’s report stated. Two crucial events impacted the world the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
▪ Global citizens became increasingly benevolent during this time of crisis and built stronger social connections.
▪ “Benevolent acts” were 25 percent more common around the world in 2022 than before the pandemic.
International Happiness Day
▪ Observed on: 20th March every year, resolution passed by UN in 2012.
▪ Theme 2023: Be Mindful, Be Grateful, Be Kind
▪ Aim: Importance of happiness in people’s lives.
▪ Background: Resolution initiated by Bhutan & Gross National Happiness (GNH) over Gross National Product (GNP) was adopted.
▪ Happiness economics is a study that analyses relationships between individual satisfaction & economic issues