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World Happiness Report 2021

Posted on March 24, 2021 by admin1  26

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The World Happiness Report 2021 released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

World Happiness Report

  • It is released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations by the UN General Assembly.
    • The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was set up in 2012 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General for mobilizing  global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development and related Goals.
  • It is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks countries around the world.
  • It takes into account measures such as GDP, social support, personal freedom and levels of corruption to give each nation a happiness score, which is an average of the past three years.

Key findings of the Report

  • Best Performers: Finland, Denmark & Switzerland.
    • Finland bagged the rank for the 4th consecutive year.
    • Nordic nations (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Greenland & Åland) bag the top ranks mostly.
  • Worst Performers: Afghanistan, Zimbabwe & Rwanda.
  • India’s Rank
    • 139th out of 149 countries.
    • Increased from the 144th rank in 2020.
    • Pakistan (105th), Bangladesh (101st) & China (84th) ahead of India.
  • Among Cities: Helsinki is the happiest city in the world. The other top four happiest cities are:
    • Aarhus (Denmark)
    • Wellington (New Zealand)
    • Zurich (Switzerland)
    • Copenhagen (Denmark)
  • Focus on the Covid-19 pandemic, a reminder of global environmental threats.
    • Nations with more faith in institutions & greater income equality, were more successful in combating it.
  • Trust as a key measure of happiness & emphasis on global cooperation.

Methodology used

  • Six dimensions are considered while calculating world happiness in the report. :
    • GDP Per Capita (Purchasing Power Parity)
    • Social Support
    • Healthy life expectancy at birth
    • Freedom to make life choices
    • Generosity
    • Perceptions of corruption

International Happiness Day

  • Observed on: 20th March every year, resolution passed by UN in 2012.
  • Theme 2021: Happiness For All, Forever.
  • Aim: Importance of happiness in people’s lives.
  • Background: Resolution initiated by Bhutan & Gross National Happiness (GNH) over Gross National Product (GNP) was adopted.
  • Happiness economics is a study that analyses relationships between individual satisfaction & economic issues.

Source: IE

 
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