Assessing happiness globally

"It is neither wealth nor splendour, but tranquillity and occupation, which give happiness"

—Thomas Jefferson, 1788.

There may be differences of opinion regarding the definition or concept of happiness, but it has gradually found recognition globally as an indicator of the wellbeing of nations.  And according to the latest World Happiness Report (WHR-2024) released on the occasion of the UN-sponsored 'International Day of Happiness' that falls on March 20, Finland has been ranked as the happiest nation on earth for the sixth time in a row. Based on a 'life evaluation' survey conducted by Gallup (World Poll) in 143 countries including Bangladesh, Finland was trailed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Australia as top-10 in the global rankings. At the lower or bottom end of the spectrum, Afghanistan was ranked as the unhappiest country in the world (143rd), followed by Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Congo, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe, the latter eight coming from the African continent. Bangladesh was not far behind them at 129th, her worst performance ever. The countries were ranked based on six key variables that supported wellbeing, viz., income or per capita GDP, social support, healthy life expectancy at birth, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perception of corruption.

This year, Bangladesh's position has gone down 11 notches, following the ranking of 118th among 137 nations in 2023. The current ranking has been the country's worst since 2019, when it was ranked 125th. In fact, if Afghanistan is excluded, then Bangladesh can be dubbed the unhappiest in South Asia, as her neighbours Nepal (93), Pakistan (108), Myanmar (118), India (126) and Sri Lanka (128) - all have better rankings. The remaining duo - Bhutan and Maldives - were not included in this year's survey. Interestingly, the report revealed that older segment of Bangladesh's population was relatively happier with a global ranking of 120th, while the upper-middle-age segment was least happy.

The WHR-2024 also showed some interesting trends that are summarised below. For example, ranking convergence has continued with Czechia, Lithuania and Slovenia of Eastern Europe rising in rank to 18, 19, and 21 respectively, while the USA and Germany fell to 23 and 24 from 15 and 16 last year. Happiness rankings also differed a lot among the young and the old. In some cases, these differences favoured the old, as in the USA and Canada. In other cases, the reverse was true, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Changes in overall happiness varied greatly from country to country between 2006 and 2023. It ranged from increases as large as 1.8 points in Serbia (up 69 ranks from 2013) to decreases as high as 2.6 points for Afghanistan (13th from the bottom in 2013 to unhappiest in 2024). Happiness changes also varied by regions, with Central and Eastern Europe having the largest gains; in contrast, happiness decreased in South Asia, especially among the middle-age people.

Looking back, it may appear astonishing to many that the World Happiness Survey-2006 conducted and led by the London School of Economics (co-author Professor Robert Worcester) in 2005 and released on January 15, 2006 (bdnews24.com) had ranked Bangladesh as the happiest nation on earth. The survey had explored the link between personal spending power and the perceived quality of life, and revealed that despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, Bangladeshis derived far more happiness from their small incomes than the citizens of Western countries like Great Britain (32nd) and the USA (46th). The study offered the explanation that a small increase in income could mean large improvements in lifestyle of people in poorer countries, but such direct relationship broke down beyond a certain income level. The researchers also argued that although the Westerners like Britons were richer compared to most other countries, many suffered from an emotional poverty caused by high consumerism and the breakdown of family life.

First published in 2012, the top ten countries in the World Happiness Reports (WHRs) have been consistently ranked high in all six variables as well as the emotional measures of wellbeing. According to the co-editor of the WHR-2019 John Helliwell, "What stands out about the happiest and most well-connected societies is their resilience and ability to deal with bad things". Explaining Finland's ranking as the happiest nation, the WHR-2019 claimed that not only did Finland have a capital city bursting with gastronomic creativity, the spectacular Northern Lights and Santa Claus's year-round home were also there. Even its immigrants were the happiest migrants in the world. The citizens paid high taxes for social safety net, trusted their government, lived in freedom, and were very generous with each other. 

But surprisingly, the Gallup's Annual 'Global State of Emotions' report released in April 2019 had painted a different picture of global happiness. According to that report, the Latin American nations of Paraguay, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras were the happiest or most positive countries, in spite of their high levels of poverty and violence. On the other hand, the most negative nations in the world were Chad and Niger, followed by Sierra Leone, Iraq, Iran, Benin, Liberia, Guinea, Palestine, and Congo. Overall, people worldwide were found to be sadder, angrier, and more fearful than ever before by that Gallup survey of 140 countries. Commenting on the high scores of Latin American countries, Gallup's Jon Clifton had explained that although people in those countries might not rate their lives as the best, they laughed, smiled, and experienced enjoyment like no other nations in the world. Their high scores "at least partly reflected the cultural tendency in the region to focus on life's positives".  

Experts opine that the divergences in findings and rankings in various surveys related to happiness at different junctures of time may be attributed to the differences in definitions, variables, and indicators used for measuring happiness and emotion. While the focus of the WHRs has been overall happiness, the Gallup survey on 'Global State of Emotions' for example, mainly targeted positive and negative emotions of people. However, the WHR appears to be more comprehensive as it also takes into account the findings of Gallup's 'World Poll' survey. 

Looking back even further, Bangladesh's South Asian neighbour Bhutan was the first to propose the observance of World Happiness Day at the United Nations back in June 2011. The resolution that was passed by the UN General Assembly urged national governments to "Give more importance to happiness and wellbeing in determining how to achieve and measure social and economic development". This drew international attention to the concept of happiness as a measure and metric. Then with Bhutan's backing, a high-level meeting of the United Nations on 'Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Paradigm' was arranged at the UN on 2 April 2012. The first World Happiness Report was prepared in support of that meeting by bringing together available data on national happiness, and by reviewing evidence from the emerging science of happiness. The United Nations General Assembly then declared March 20 as the International Day of Happiness on 12 July 2012 by recognising the "relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world, and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives". 

As for Bhutan, the small Himalayan country has been pursuing a unique approach to development over the years, with its national ethos anchored on the philosophy of 'Gross National Happiness' (GNH). The concept was first coined by the former Bhutanese King Jigme Singye Wangchuk in 1972, which prioritised GNH over Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GNH refers to a set of socioeconomic indicators that evaluate social changes in terms of collective happiness of the people. Policies are adopted that lead to happier outcomes for the nation. The concept promotes collective happiness of society as the ultimate goal based on the premise that all humans aspire for happiness in one way or another.  According to this concept, true development of human societies occurs when material and spiritual advancement complements or reinforces each other. Therefore, the means should always be considered in terms of the end; steps in material development must be evaluated to ensure that it will lead to happiness, not just mere growth. This philosophy, therefore, attempts to harmonise economic progress with spiritual and emotional wellbeing.   

GNH targets holistic development of the individual and society through a sustainable balance between the economic, social, emotional, spiritual, and cultural needs of the population. GNH-based development is therefore not restricted to only the current population of any society. It takes into cognizance future generations as well as other societies, indeed all sentinel beings. It emphasises that a nation's current pursuit of development should not cause misery to subsequent generations, other societies, or even to other sentient beings. GNH has been Bhutan's predominant development philosophy that has steered the nation's development policies, plans, and programmes. The country has been able to achieve rapid socio-economic growth within a short period by adopting this concept. The achievements have been matched with minimal impact on the country's culture and environment.

The spheres of GNH are: equitable and sustainable socio-economic development; preservation and promotion of culture; conservation of environment; and good governance. The following GNH indicators are used as core components of happiness and wellbeing: Psychological wellbeing, Time use, Community vitality, Cultural Diversity and Resilience, Health, Education, Environmental Diversity, Living Standard, and Good Governance. The GNH surveys conducted in Bhutan show that the happiness of its people rose by 7.2 per cent between 2010 and 2022. The GNH index value also increased significantly from 0.743 in 2010 to 0.781 in 2022. Developing countries like Bangladesh can learn a lot from Bhutan in their quest for happiness and peace.

This year, the World Happiness Report-2024 has been published and released by the Wellbeing Research Centre of the University of Oxford, the other partners in the initiative being Gallup (World Poll), the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN-SDSN, and the WHR's Editorial Board comprising John F. Helliwell of the University of British Columbia, Richard Layard of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Jeffrey D. Sachs of the Columbia University, Jan-Emmaneul De Neve of Oxford University, Lara B. Aknin of Simon Fraser University, and Shun Wang of International Business School, Suzhou.

Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed is a retired Additional Secretary and former Editor of Bangladesh Quarterly. 
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