World Happiness Index: Finland tops: Pakistan happier than India

- UN report on education, health, corruption, fraternity, public trust in government institutions

- Pakistan 108, Myanmar 118, Sri Lanka 128, Bangladesh 129 while India remains at 126th position

- America out of top 20, Britain 20, Germany 24, France 27 India not included in top 10 in Asia, Singapore first

New Delhi/Washington: The Happiness Index of the year 2024, which is conducted to see how happy people are in countries around the world including India, has been announced. According to this United Nations index, Finland ranks first and its people are the happiest in the world. This index was announced considering 146 countries. In which India is ranked 126. India's happiness index is higher than neighboring countries Nepal, China and Pakistan. While the happiest countries are Finland in the first place, Denmark in the second place and Iceland in the third place.

According to the 2024 World Happiness Report released by the United Nations, Finland has become the happiest country in the world for the seventh time in a row. Experts from the United Nations, who research people's happiness, have said in this report that Finland has reached the first place because of people's attachment to nature, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and balance between work. Apart from this, this index has been prepared keeping in mind the social security of people in different countries, trust in government institutions, less corruption, good health-education and various facilities provided by the government, brotherhood in the society, freedom, generosity.

In this index of 146 countries, India's rank is 126, the same rank was last year also. While India's neighboring country Pakistan is at 108, Myanmar is at 118, Sri Lanka is at 128, Bangladesh is at 129. India has been ranked among the least happy countries in this ranking. Last on the list of the happiest countries is Afghanistan, which Afghanistan has held for years. The index revealed that women are less happy than men among the elderly in India. It has been found that the level of happiness in women decreases with age. Different continents of the world are divided in this index.

In the Asian continent, Singapore is at the top position, while Taiwan is second and Japan is third. India is not included in Asia's happiest countries, while China ranks ninth. In this list, Canada is ranked 15th, Britain is ranked 20th, while Germany is ranked 24th and France is ranked 27th. While the US and Germany have been ranked in the top 20 happiest countries in the world for the past decade, this is the first time that they have dropped out of the top 20. America is at the 23rd position in the list, which was earlier last year at the 16th position. Costa Rica and Kuwait have retained the 12th and 13th positions.

The secret of the happiest countries

1. Stronger Social Support: The happiest countries have improved systems of social support, including health, education, help for the unemployed, etc., which enable citizens to cope with challenges.

2. Freedom and trust: Citizens have more trust in their government, citizens enjoy a higher level of freedom. So feels more secure.

3. Equality: Even if the income of people is low but the value of social equality in the society is high, happiness increases.

4. Connection with nature: Citizens of top 10 happiest countries love nature a lot, stay connected with nature outside the home.

5. Work-life balance: Citizens of the happiest countries have less workload and can enjoy vacations more. Economic condition is less weak.

Cause of unhappiness of people in countries

1. Instability: Countries that have been declared the least happy have years of conflict, civil war, and political instability. This increases fear among citizens.

2. Economic challenges: People find it difficult to run a household, poverty increases due to lack of government cooperation, basic amenities are poor and people remain unhappy.

3. Major shock: People take time to recover from a shock that affects the entire country.

4. Level of violence: In countries where there is more violence there is an atmosphere of unrest, people cannot be happy in the midst of unrest.

5. Basic facilities: In countries where basic facilities like education, health are lacking, the challenges are more.