World Happiness Index- 2018

Recently World Happiness Index was released by UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network's (SDSN). In this context following topics are discussed:

1. Key facts from World Happiness Index
2. How the index is calculated?
3. How the report is different from previous reports
4. Top 10 countries in World Happiness Index
5. India & World Happiness Index
6. India & SAARC countries in World happiness index.

Key facts from World Happiness Index

• Name of the index- World Happiness Index
• Released by- UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network's (SDSN)
• Top rank in World Happiness Index-Finland. Finland has emerged as the happiest place to live
• Burundi is the least happiest country in the world
• Rank of India in World Happiness Index-133rd
• Previous rank of India-122nd
• The United States fell to 18th place from 14th last year. 

World Happiness Index

Every year since 2012, the United Nations (UN) has published something called the World Happiness Report. This index ranks most of the countries of the world on the basis of their happiness levels.

How the World Happiness Index is calculated?

The World Happiness Report published by UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network's which ranked 156 countries by happiness levels, based on factors such as life expectancy, social support, generosity and absence of corruption

Top 10 countries in the index:

Name of the country	Rank
Finland	1
Norway	2
Denmark	3
Iceland	4
Switzerland	5
Netherlands	6
Canada	7
New Zealand	8
Sweden	9
Australia	10

How the report is different from previous reports?

• When compared with previous happiness indexes, the annual report published by the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network this year also evaluated 117 countries by the happiness and well-being of their immigrants.
• Also, this year's main focus apart from usual rankings was on migration within and between countries

India & World Happiness Index:

• India slipped 11 places as it was placed 122nd last year, which was a drop from 118th rank the preceding year. For the past few years, India’s rank in happiness index is falling gradually.
• Also, as per 2018 report Indians are unhappier than most of their South Asian neighboring countries including the citizens of Pakistan

India & SAARC:

• As per Happiness Index-2018, India’s rank is far lower than most of its neighboring countries in South Asia, including all the countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) , except Afghanistan
• As per recent happiness index among the eight SAARC nations, Pakistan was at 75th position, Nepal stood at 101, Bhutan at 97, Bangladesh at 115 while Sri Lanka was at 116.
• India’s other neighbor, China, stood at 86th spot.
• Other information:
• Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh had created a ‘ministry of happiness’ in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Model Questions:

Which of the following organization publishes World Happiness Index?
a. IMF
b. World Bank
c. UNSDN
d. WEF

What is the rank of India in World Happiness Index-2018?
a. 110
b. 133

c. 121
d. 153

On which of the following dates, International Day of Happiness is celebrated?
a. March 20th
b. December 17th
c. March 18th
d. December 20th