SL among the least happy nations

WEDNESDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2013 

Sri Lanka has been ranked 137 among 156 nations in the UN-sponsored World Happiness Report, in which Denmark was deemed to be the happiest nation in the world.

The 2013 World Happiness Report released on Monday by Columbia University's Earth Institute utilised factors such as the GDP, life expectancy, social support, “perceptions of corruption”, and “freedom to make life choices”, to assign each country a total score.

Denmark, with 7.693 was deemed the happiest nation, following by Norway (7.655), Switzerland (7.650), The Netherlands (7.512) and Sweden (7.480). Canada (7.477), Finland (7.389), Austria (7.369), Iceland (7.355) and Australia (7.350) completed the top ten.

Britain, with a score of 6.883, came 22nd in the study, behind the likes of Costa Rica (12th), the United Arab Emirates (14th), Panama (15th), Mexico (16th) and Venezuela (20th), but ahead of France (25th), Germany (26th) and Italy (45th).

The least happy of the 156 countries to feature was Togo, with a rating of 2.936. Other African nations also dominated the bottom of the rankings, with Benin, the Central African Republic, Burundi, and Rwanda completing the bottom five. Syria came 148th, Bulgaria 144th, Yemen 142nd, Sri Lanka 137th and Egypt 130th.

The report is based on statistics compiled between 2010 and 2012 by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. It found the world has become “a slightly happier and more generous place over the past five years”, adding that the biggest increase in happiness had been in Angola, Zimbabwe, Albania, Ecuador and Moldova.

The most significant fall in happiness was found to have occurred in Egypt, which has been plagued by civil unrest since the last report. Greece, Myanmar (Burma), Jamaica and Botswana have also seen a dip in happiness, it said.

A rival to the World Happiness Report, the Happy Planet Index, last year judged Costa Rica to be the most joyous nation on Earth, followed by Vietnam, Colombia, Belize and El Salvador. Its ranking "reveals the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered".

Canadian and antipodean cities usually dominate the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual "liveability" study, while anyone in search of a quick chuckle might consider heading to the town of Happy, Texas, the Tian Xing Yong Le (the Ever-Happy Temple) complex in China, or Hidakagawa in Japan, which hosts an annual laughing festival.

VIDEO: ONLY MEMBERS OF THE REGIME WILL ENJOY HAPPINESS AND FREEDOM - UNP

September 12, 2013 

Although the government talks about happiness and freedom for all, only those who are part of their regime enjoy happiness and freedom, UNP MP Harsha de Silva stated.

He highlighted the fact that Sri Lanka was ranked 137th among 156 countries in the 2013 World Happiness Index adding that the government will probably claim that this is all an international conspiracy against Sri Lanka and that the United Nations is attempting to taint the image of the country.

Speaking at a press conference held today (September 12), the UNP MP said that the government was taking foreign loans at extremely high interest rates of 9.25% and 9.5% while this clearly shows the great financial crisis that the government is facing. He added that as the government takes these loans, the burden of paying them back with interest will fall directly on the people.

He pointed out that the government was on one hand criticising the international community and the Common Wealth while on the other hand taking high interest foreign loans to welcome them to the country and ensure that they receive the best treatment all at the expense of the people.