World Happiness Report

Context:

• Until the beginning of the publication of the United Nations World Happiness Report in 2012, happiness was not considered an objective of governance.
• But it has now emerged as a new measure of the quality of governance.
• The connection between law, governance and happiness has been gaining considerable attention over the years.
• This is because the report has shown time and again that countries with a higher GDP and higher per capita income are not necessarily the happiest.

About the report:

• World Happiness Report is an annual publication of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network which contains rankings of national happiness.

How is the report made?

• World Happiness Report 2021 use data that come from the Gallup World Poll surveys from 2018 to 2020.
• They are based on answers to the main life evaluation question asked in the poll. This is called the Cantril ladder.
• A sample size of 2,000 to 3,000 is large enough to give a fairly good estimate at the national level.
• Dystopia is an imaginary country that has the world’s least-happy people. The purpose in establishing Dystopia is to have a benchmark against which all countries can be favorably compared (no country performs more poorly than Dystopia)

Parameters

• Income
• Healthy life expectancy
• Social support
• Freedom
• Trust and generosity

Rankings of 2021 and India’s status:

• Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
• The Nordic nation is followed by Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Norway.
• India is ranked 139 out of 149 countries.
• Pakistan has been ranked 105; Bangladesh ranked 101 and China at 84.

Add ons:

• This year’s report focuses on the effects of COVID-19 on happiness and how countries have differed in their success in reducing the deaths and maintaining connected and healthy societies.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Which among the following are the parameters of World Happiness Report?

1. Income

2. Healthy life expectancy

3. Social support

4. Freedom

5. Trust and generosity

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1,2 and 3 only

(b) 2,4 and 5 only

(c) 1,3,4 and 5 only

(d) 1,2,3,4 and 5

Answer