In the most recent UN happiness survey, Pakistan surpasses India

India stayed at number 126 and Pakistan at number 108 in the annual World Happiness Report, which was released on Wednesday by the United Nations.

For the eighth consecutive year, Finland held the top spot in the world happiness rankings, followed by Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden in the Nordic region.

Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Switzerland occupied the final ten places.

Afghanistan remained at the bottom of the 143 nations examined, wracked by a humanitarian crisis ever since the Taliban retook power in 2020.

The United States and Germany, which came in 23rd and 24th place, respectively, were not among the top 20 happiest countries for the first time since the report’s publication more than ten years ago.

Kuwait and Costa Rica, meanwhile, stormed into the top 20 at positions 12 and 13.

The world’s largest countries were no longer among the happiest countries, according to the research.

“The Netherlands and Australia are the only two nations in the top 10 with populations of more than 15 million. Only the UK and Canada have populations of more than 30 million out of the top 20.”

Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Jordan saw the worst declines in happiness between 2006 and 2010, whilst Eastern European nations like Serbia, Bulgaria, and Latvia saw the largest rises.

The self-assessed assessments of life satisfaction by individuals, along with GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption, are the basis for the happiness ranking.

For the first time, a different ranking of nations based on age was also created this year. When it came to under-30 happiness, Lithuania came in #1. Bangladesh is rated 128th, India 127th, and Pakistan 107th.

Likewise, Denmark topped the list of individuals 60 years of age and older, followed by Pakistan at 112, India at 121, and Bangladesh at 120.

The final 20 nations on this list of 143 have been ranked as the 20 least happy nations in the world, with Afghanistan at the top. Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India are among the unhappy nations.

According to Jennifer De Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland, two important factors in the happiness of Finns are their healthy work-life balance and strong ties to the natural world.

Furthermore, she added, Finns could have a “more attainable understanding of what a successful life is” in contrast to, say, the United States, where success is frequently associated with monetary gain.

Important factors were also the robust welfare state, public confidence in government, low levels of corruption, and free healthcare and education in Finland.

“Finnish society is permeated by a sense of trust, freedom, and high level of autonomy,” De Paola stated.

According to this year’s survey, in most parts of the world, but not all of them, younger generations are happier than their older counterparts.

Since 2006–2010, the happiness of those under 30 has significantly decreased in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, with older generations now experiencing more happiness than younger ones.

In contrast, happiness rose significantly at all ages in Central and Eastern Europe during the same period, whereas happiness levels across the board were comparable in Western Europe.

All regions saw an increase in happiness inequality, with the exception of Europe, which writers called a “worrying trend”.

The authors noted that the growth was particularly noticeable in Sub-Saharan Africa and among the elderly, and that it was a reflection of disparities in “income, education, health care, social acceptance, trust, and the presence of supportive social environments at the family, community, and national levels.”