India hovers between Ukraine and Afghanistan in happiness
India ranked 126, Ukraine 105, Afghanistan at 143
India was the 126th happiest country out of 143 countries, according to the World Happiness Report, 2024. Its position is unchanged since 2023. India has, however, slipped from position 117 in 2015 and 140 in 2019.
China's ranking stood at 60 while neighbouring countries Nepal (93), Pakistan (108), and Myanmar (118) fared better in the 2024 list. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were ranked higher at 128 and 129, respectively.
Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since 2022, was ranked at 105. Burkina Faso, which faced a prolonged insurgency in 2022 leaving 10,000 dead and two million people displaced, stood at 110, while Mali, which had a military coup in 2021, stood at 122.
In a first, the report has an entire chapter on India. The chapter examined differences in life satisfaction among older adults in India. These parameters included satisfaction with living arrangements, perceived discrimination, and self-rated health.
The report highlighted that older adults with secondary or higher education and those of higher social castes report higher life satisfaction than counterparts without formal education and those from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. "Financial status, caste, and rural residence also emerged as influential factors, with those from the western region of India reporting the highest satisfaction levels, followed by counterparts in the central, north-eastern, and northern regions," the report stated.
The survey relies on the Gallup World Poll, which asks respondents to evaluate their current life as a whole using the image of a ladder, with the best possible life being 10 and the worst being 0. The happiness rankings are based on a three-year average (2021-2023) of the life evaluations.
In an age-wise bifurcation, it said that the old (aged 60 and above) in India were more happy than the young. While the country was ranked 127 among the young (under 30 years) and lower middle age (30-44 years) groups, it was ranked 121 among the upper middle (45-59 years) and the old.
Finland topped the list of 143 countries with Afghanistan being the least happy country in the world. Joining Finland in the top five happiest countries were Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel. The State of Palestine was ranked 103 on the list. The report stated that the survey in Palestine occurred before October 7, 2023, and the survey in Israel took place after the hostage-taking but much before the subsequent warfare.
The USA, which ranked 16th last year, fell to the 23rd spot this year; Canada was ranked 15th, while the UK, Germany and France were ranked 20, 24, and 27, respectively. In Asia, the UAE was ranked at 22 and Saudi Arabia at 28. Singapore, Japan and South Korea were ranked 30, 50, and 51, respectively.