KATHMANDU, March 18: Nepal is a happier country than India, according to a global report.
The World Happiness Report 2016 Update, which was released in Rome on Wednesday ahead of UN World Happiness Day, has ranked Nepal ahead of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in South Asia.UN World Happiness Day is celebrated on March 20.
The study ranks countries by their happiness level.
Nepal ranks 107th among 156 countries with a score of 4.793, according to the report. Bangladesh is in the 110th position with a score of 4.643, Sri Lanka (4.415) is 117th, and India with a score of 4.404 is in 118th position. Similarly, Afghanistan is at the 154th position with a score of 3.360.
However, Bhutan and Pakistan are happier than Nepal, according to the report that has ranked Bhutan at 84th position with a score of 5.196 and Pakistan at 92nd position with a score of 5.132.
The fourth World Happiness Report reflects growing global interest in using happiness and subjective well-being as primary indicators of the quality of human development. It also reflects results of subjective well-being research, and is expected to enable policies that support better lives.
This year, for the first time, the World Happiness Report gives a special role to the measurement and consequences of inequality in the distribution of well-being among countries and regions. The report states that people are happier living in societies where there is less inequality of happiness. "They also find that happiness inequality has increased significantly -- comparing 2012-2015 to 2005-2011 -- in most countries, in almost all global regions, and for the population of the world as a whole," it added.
According to the report, Denmark is the world' happiest country followed by Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland. Likewise, Burundi is least happy, followed by Syria, Togo, Afghanistan and Benin.
The rankings, which are based on surveys in 156 countries conducted over three years (2013-2015), reveal an average score of 5.1, out of 10. Seven key variables explain three-quarters of the variation in annual national average scores over time and among countries: real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption, and generosity, the report added.
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