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Tag: World Happiness Report

  • Canada drops from 13th to 15th position in yearly World Happiness Report

    Canada drops from 13th to 15th position in yearly World Happiness Report

    Canada is now ranked at 15th place in the yearly World Happiness Report.

    Canada is now ranked lower than Costa Rica, Kuwait, and Austria, dropping from 13th place last year.

    John Helliwell, a Canadian economist and founding editor of the World Happiness Report, said on Wednesday that in Canada and the United States, younger people are not as happy as they were 10 or 12 years ago.

    “The older people have not experienced many changes, and their life circumstances have stayed the same. This is causing them anxiety. ”

    The report looks at information from 140 countries and uses six important factors to understand how people feel about their lives: how much money they have, how much support they get from others, how long they are expected to live, how much freedom they have, how generous they are, and how they feel about corruption. The 2024 report was the first to rank people by age, showing big differences between young and old in some countries.

    Helliwell, a retired professor from the University of British Columbia, thinks that bad news in English media, especially on social media, is one reason why Canada is less happy now.

    “We looked and asked, ‘How does this work in Quebec. ‘ Because Quebec is more focused on French-language media,” Helliwell explained in simpler words. “In fact, the decrease in young people in Quebec is only half as much as the decrease in the rest of Canada. ”

    The top 20 list

    According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, the top 20 happiest countries in the world are:

    1. Finland;
    2. Denmark;
    3. Iceland;
    4. Sweden;
    5. Israel;
    6. Netherlands;
    7. Norway;
    8. Luxembourg
    9. Switzerland;
    10. Australia;
    11. New Zealand;
    12. Costa Rica;
    13. Kuwait;
    14. Austria;
    15. Canada;
    16. Belgium;
    17. Ireland;
    18. Czechia;
    19. Lithuania; and
    20. United Kingdom

    The World Happiness Report has once again ranked Finland as the happiest country for the third consecutive year.1 same spot for seven years in a row. The United States went down to 23rd place from 15th place. Afghanistan, Lebanon and Lesotho were at the end of the list.

    Helliwell thinks we can make Canada a happier place by changing how young people think.

    “Good news, people are more generous than you think,” Helliwell said. “Believe it and behave that way. ” Treat the person you don’t know in the street like a friend you haven’t met before. Give them a smile. Have a conversation with them. Build relationshipsAnd that’s the first thing we need to do to make our community happier.

    The report shows that prices for things are going up, which is making it harder for Canadians to afford things. Vance Foreman, 29, talked to CTV News in Fredericton, N. B, and believes that weather affects how people feel.

    “I know many social safety programs have been reduced. ” Saving money for a house, food, and other things is very difficult. “I can see that a lot of people are feeling sad,” said Vance. He said he just moved from the city, and it’s hard to afford gas.

    “I have been trying to save money for a long time, but I’m not making much progress. It’s happening very slowly,” he said. “It’s not the same as when my parents were young and trying to afford things. “

  • War-torn Ukraine, Iraq, Libya citizens happier than Ghanaians – Report

    War-torn Ukraine, Iraq, Libya citizens happier than Ghanaians – Report

    The Sustainable Development Solutions Network in 2022 released World Happiness Report which is a global project of the United Nations.

    The World Happiness Report is released every year around March 20th as part of the International Day of Happiness celebration.

    The World Happiness Report 2022 ranked 146 countries based on three broad indicators: life evaluations, and positive and negative emotions. Under these three indicators, the report looks at various factors that influence the three main indicators: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, trust, generosity, GDP of a country, and perceptions of corruption.

    While rankings like these are not definitive, they provide some insight into the factors contributing to citizens’ perceived happiness in different countries.

    As usual, countries from Northern Europe, Finland (Ist), Denmark (2nd), and Iceland (3rd), have dominated the Happiness ranking, followed by mostly developed economies, including Germany (14th ), the United States of America (16th), and the United Kingdom(17th).

    Turning to the happiest countries in Africa, Mauritius(52nd) ranks as the happiest country, whiles Zimbabwe (144th) is the least happy country, as it struggles with high poverty levels.

    According to the report, Libya(86th), Ukraine(97th), and Iraq (107) – countries plagued by political instability and conflict – are happier places to live than Ghana (111). Ghana has decreased in ranking from the previous year, where it fared 95th out of the 149 countries surveyed in the 2021 World Happiness Report. Factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, which impacted various aspects of the country, can be attributed to the decrease in the Happiness Ranking.

    One plausible reason Ukraine, Iraq, and Libya may be happier countries than Ghana is the level of social support. According to the report, Ukraine, Iraq, and Libya ranked higher than Ghana regarding social support, which refers to strong social networks and access to social services like healthcare and education.

    This suggests that citizens in Ukraine, Iraq, and Libya may feel more connected to their communities and have better access to resources that contribute to their overall well-being.

    Another factor is economic prosperity. While all these countries are considered developing nations, they have varying levels of income and wealth. Despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and political instability in Libya and Iraq, these countries have a higher level of income and wealth (World Bank Data) than Ghana.

    Happiness is a complex and multifaceted concept that cannot be reduced to a simple ranking. While the World Happiness Report can offer some insights into the factors that contribute to happiness and help governments shape policies to improve the happiness of their citizens, it is up to everyone to determine what brings them happiness and fulfillment in their own lives.