The World Happiness Index Report is published annually on March 20, known as World Happiness Day. The report measures national happiness worldwide and aims to provide insights into the factors contributing to happiness and well-being.
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Parameters to measure happiness
The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network publishes the report, and the Gallup World Polls collects the data. The report measures happiness based on six factors, namely gross domestic product, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom, and corruption. This year’s report, however, had a new and different approach to measuring national happiness based on trust, benevolence, state efficiency, altruistic behaviour, and the impact of social media.
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India’s Rank
Despite improving its ranking from last year, India still ranked low at 126 in the report. This is a matter of concern as neighbouring countries such as Pakistan (108), Bangladesh (118), Sri Lanka (112), and Nepal (85) ranked higher than India on the happiness index. Countries like Ukraine (92) and Russia (70), despite being in a state of war, have ranked higher than India due to increased benevolence.
“This year’s report features many interesting insights, but one that I find particularly interesting and heartening has to do with pro-sociality. For a second year, we see that various forms of everyday kindness, such as helping a stranger, donating to charity, and volunteering, are above pre-pandemic levels,” said Lara Aknin, one of the co-authors of the report.
Acts of kindness is one of the notable findings of this year’s report. Despite the pandemic, economic crisis, and personal losses, acts of kindness have increased globally. The report found this increase as well as an increase in altruism during the pandemic. This is a heartening finding as it suggests that people are coming together to support each other during these challenging times.
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Importance of Social Connections
The report also highlighted the importance of social connections and relationships in contributing to happiness and well-being. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of social connections, and the report takes note of the countries with strong social support systems, which were able to weather the pandemic better than the other countries. The happiest countries in the world, according to the parameters of the report are: Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Israel and the Netherlands.
Angry with World Happiness Index Report’s Parameters
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The parameters of the World Happiness Index and India’s rank have angered the filmmaker, Vivek Agnihotri. He said the happiness index was ‘crap’ as the measuring parameters are set per Western concepts. “All these Indexes are crap as their questions are so western. Ask Westerns “How many days in a week you eat meal with your family?” Or “Can you depend on your family for a lifetime?” And you will find most western countries at the bottom and India at the top of Happiness Index,” he wrote on his twitter.
Despite this, it is undeniable that the World Happiness Index Reports provides policymakers with valuable information to formulate adequate policies to promote happiness and well-being.