UN World Happiness Report: Saudi Arabia Ranks 25th

Denmark is the second happiest country in the world.

Iceland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands are ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

Afghanistan is regarded as the world’s most unhappy country.

Web Desk — Saudi Arabia has climbed one spot to place 25th in this year’s World Happiness Report.

Published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the survey measures happiness levels in 156 countries around the world. Last year, the Kingdom placed 26th.

Since 2017, the report has evaluated the Kingdom’s progress by highlighting the impact of Saudi Vision 2030’s goals, including the development of the Quality of Life Program.

The study noted that the Kingdom has excelled in improving its gross domestic product, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life decisions, and countering corruption.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kingdom has set up social support projects and economic programs, the report said.

The World Happiness Report, which examines changes in the lives of the public around the world using global survey data, will mark its 10th anniversary this year.

“The report has been based on two key ideas: That happiness or life evaluation can be measured through opinion surveys, and that we can identify key determinants of well-being and thereby explain the patterns of life evaluation across countries,” the report’s website says.

It added that the results of surveys can help countries craft policies aimed at achieving happier societies.

Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the fifth year running, in an annual UN-sponsored index that ranked Afghanistan as the unhappiest, closely followed by Lebanon.

India is ranked at a lowly 136, even below Pakistan, which is at 121, on the list. The latest list was completed before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia recorded the biggest boosts in wellbeing. The largest falls in the World Happiness table, released on Friday, came in Lebanon, Venezuela, and Afghanistan.