India has not fared well in a global ranking of the happiest nations, ranking 117 out of 158 countries according to the 2015 World Happiness Report published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), which is a global initiative by the United Nations.
India’s rank is below nations like Pakistan (81), Palestine (108), Bangladesh (109), Ukraine (111) and Iraq (112). Its rank dropped six notched from the 2013 report, when it was on the 111 spot.
Switzerland has been named the happiest country in the world, coming in at the number one spot.
The other countries in the top five are Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.
“Increasingly happiness is considered a proper measure of social progress and goal of public policy, The happiness index describes how measurements of well- being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations.
The index takes into account factors such as GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support and freedom to make life choices, social support of having someone to count on in times of trouble, freedom to make life choices, healthy life expectancy, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
The US is ranked 15, followed by UK (21), Singapore (24), Saudi Arabia (35), Japan (46) and China (84).
Afghanistan and war-torn Syria joined eight sub-Saharan countries in Africa -- Togo, Burundi, Benin, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Chad -- as the 10 least happy of 158 countries.
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