Philippines 69th Happiest Country – UN
In a report released by the United Nations (UN) on the International Day of Happiness, the Philippines ranked as the 69th happiest country in the world.
The report, released last Wednesday, shows that the country moved up two places from last year. In 2018, the Philippines was 71st out of 156 countries.
Currently, the Philippines ranks higher than its Southeast Asian neighbors Malaysia (80th), Indonesia (92nd), Vietnam (94th), Laos (105th), Cambodia (109th) and Myanmar (131st).
These findings align with a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released last Sunday, which said that 87% of Filipinos consider themselves “very or fairly happy.” SWS noted that this is the country’s lowest in four years, since recording 85% in December 2014.
In the recent survey, the polling firm also found that 82% of Filipinos are “very or fairly satisfied” with their situation in life.
Nordic Countries are Happiest
UN’s World Happiness Report 2019 asked citizens worldwide on how happy they perceive themselves to be. The survey also measured data such as life expectancy, income, and social support.
Finland ranked as the world’s happiest country for two consecutive years. Countries that made it to the top 10 included Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, and Austria.
These most content countries tend to have very stable societies, with their happiness levels changing little since 2005.
Britain, despite facing the political turmoil brought by Brexit, rose four places to 15th happiest. The United States, drops one spot to 19th place, continuing its slide in recent years.
War-torn Countries Rank Lowest
The unhappiest nation is war-torn South Sudan, where the UN recently said that 60% of the population face food insecurity. A bloody civil war has claimed the lives of an estimated 400,000 people.
Several other conflict-ridden countries, such as Yemen, Afghanistan and the Central African Republic, also rank low.
World Happiness on a Decline
The UN report warned that world happiness has been on the decline in recent years, driven by a sustained fall in India, which currently ranks at the 140th place. The report said that this coincides with a rise in negative feelings “comprising worry, sadness and anger, especially marked in Asia and Africa, and more recently elsewhere.”
UN Survey tracks happiness performance since 2005
This year’s survey also looked at the performance of countries in the happiness rankings since 2005.
Out of the 20 largest gainers, half are in Central and Eastern Europe, five are in sub-Saharan Africa, and three are in Latin America.
The five countries with the largest decline since 2005 are Yemen, India, Syria, Botswana, and Venezuela.
