IN THIS POST
– World Happiness Report 2021
– Top 20 Happiest Countries
– 20 Least Happy Countries
The year 2020 will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most stressful, draining, and frankly, the worst year in recent history. The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic swept the globe, affecting 123 million and killing 2.72 million people so far. Political turmoil, inflation, and climate change only made matters worse. Things in Pakistan weren’t any better. As of writing this, Pakistan has recorded an upward of 630,000 COVID-19 cases along with more than 13,800 deaths. Given the current situation, when the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network finally released its World Happiness Report 2021, seeing Pakistan rank way above the 20 least happy countries came as a pleasant surprise.
As per the World Happiness Report 2021, Pakistan ranked 105 out of 149 countries on the list, beating India, Iran, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan by a substantial margin. It is also worth mentioning that Pakistan scored 4.934 on the list, whereas Iran scored 4.721, Sri Lanka scored 4.325, India scored 3.819, and Afghanistan scored 2.523.
Meanwhile, China ranked 84th on the list with a score of 5.339.
On the other hand, Finland managed to keep its title of the world’s happiest country for the fourth year in a row with a score of 7.842. Other European nations of Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Luxembourg also ranked high on the list.
Interestingly, the United States ranked 19th on the list despite being one of the most affluent and powerful countries in the world.
Let’s take a further look at the ranking of Pakistan in the World Happiness Report 2021 and what it actually means.
World Happiness Report 2021
Every year, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network publishes its World Happiness Report by analyzing the data from the Gallup World Poll, which asks subjects from around the world to vote on numerous indicators such as positive and negative emotions, life evaluations, and more to conduct the survey. The positive emotions include happiness, laugh and enjoyment, whereas the negative emotions refer to worry, sadness and anger.
The researchers also analyze the given data on six factors:
- Levels of GDP
- Life expectancy
- Generosity
- Social support
- Freedom
- Corruption
As we already know, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic sent countries across the world into lockdown and forced the entire population to follow social distancing and self-isolation measures to slow down the spread of the dangerous disease. A record number of people faced unemployment due to economic crises while the ones fortunate enough to keep their jobs were asked to work remotely, making WFH (Work from Home) the new normal. Students, on the other hand, resorted to online classes and campuses of schools, colleges and universities were closed down to maintain a healthy society.
In light of the tumultuous year, the World Happiness Report 2021 focused on the effects of coronavirus on happiness, mental health, social connections, and the workplace. It also studied how different countries worked to minimize the impact of the pandemic on their respective populations, subsequently reducing the number of deaths while taking care of the employment, income, mental health and physical health of the rest of the society.
Needless to say, the report acknowledged that coronavirus has taken a toll on the general happiness and well-being of people around the globe.
The ranking of Pakistan in the World Happiness Report 2021 goes to show the country’s response to COVID-19 was far better than that of numerous other countries, including India, Iran and Sri Lanka.
Top 20 Happiest Countries in the World
According to the World Happiness Report, these are the happiest countries in the world.
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Switzerland
4. Iceland
5. The Netherlands
6. Norway
7. Sweden
8. Luxembourg
9. New Zealand
10. Austria
11. Australia
12. Israel
13. Germany
14. Canada
15. Ireland
16. Costa Rica
17. United Kingdom
18. The Czech Republic
19. United States
20. Belgium
The 20 Least Happy Countries in the World
Here are the countries that ranked lowest in the list of World Happiness Report 2021.
130. Swaziland
131. Comoros
132. Egypt
133. Ethiopia
134. Mauritania
135. Madagascar
136. Togo
137. Zambia
138. Sierra Leone
139. India
140. Burundi
141. Yemen
142. Tanzania
143. Haiti
144. Malawi
145. Lesotho
146. Botswana
147. Rwanda
148. Zimbabwe
149. Afghanistan
This brings us to the end of our discussion on the ranking of Pakistan in the World Happiness Report 2021. If you want to learn more about coronavirus in Pakistan and how the country has responded to the pandemic, the following guides will definitely help you out:
- How to Get the Coronavirus Vaccine in Pakistan
- Coronavirus Vaccination Centres in Pakistan
- Where to Get Tested for Coronavirus in Pakistan
- How is the Government Tackling the Coronavirus Outbreak in Pakistan
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