India with a score of 3.819 has been ranked 139 out of 149 countries in the ‘World Happiness Report 2021’ an publication of United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN). The ranking was topped by Finland (tops for the 4th Time).
- This is the 9th World Happiness Report and is based on surveys conducted during the time period of 2018-20.
- It ranks the world’s 149 countries on “how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be”.
- The results of the report based on the Gallup World Poll.
- The least happy countries were Afghanistan (149), Zimbabwe (148) & Rwanda (147).
- Apart from Afghanistan (149), all neighbouring countries ranked higher than India.
This Year (2021) the report ranked the country using 2 methods,
- Using the data from the previous three years of surveys(2018-2020).
- Using the data from only 2020.
Ranking Based on Past 3 Years(2018-2020):
| Country | Ranking | Points |
|---|---|---|
| India | 139 | 3.819 |
| Finland | 1 | 7.842 |
| Denmark | 2 | 7.620 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 7.571 |
Ranking Based on Last Year(2020):
| Country | Ranking | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Finland | 1 | 7.889 |
| Iceland | 2 | 7.575 |
| Denmark | 3 | 7.515 |
Note: Luxembourg was not surveyed in 2020 and is represented by its 2018-19 survey in the official rankings.
Focus of 2021 Report
The survey was based on issues like
- Effects of COVID-19 on structure and quality of people’s lives
- Performance of governments in dealing with the pandemic
- The report also took into account data related per capita Gross Domestic Product, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity and corruption perception.
Method
The method used in the World Happiness Report on Cantril Ladder Survey.
Key Points
- India was ranked 140 in the World Happiness Report 2019 and India ranked 144 in World Happiness Report 2020.
- Ranking of Neighbouring Countries of India – Pakistan is on 105th, Bangladesh on 101st, China on 84th, Sri Lanka on 129th .
- Despite being one of the richest countries in the world, the US was ranked at 19th place.
About the Report:
The World Happiness Report 2021 is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by data from the Gallup World Poll. Including the World Risk Poll by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, and the life satisfaction data collected during 2020 as part of the Covid Data Hub.
The Report is supported by the Ernesto Illy Foundation; illycaffè; Davines Group; The Blue Chip Foundation; The William, Jeff, and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation; the Happier Way Foundation, Indeed, and Unilever’s largest ice cream brand Wall’s.
Recent Related News:
i.December 19, 2020, According to the ‘Human Freedom Index 2020: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom’ – 6th Annual Report released by Cato Institute of United States & Fraser Institute in Canada, India (overall score of 6.43) ranked 111 in the list of 162 countries.
About United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN):
President – Jeffrey Sachs
Secretariat – New York, USA; Paris, France; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
