India slips on World Happiness Index: UN report

Washington, April 24 , 2015: Indians are fast losing on the happiness front, says the UN World Happiness Report 2015, adding that the country has significantly lost six places in the well-being rankings of 158 countries since the last report that two years ago. India is placed at 117th position with a score of 4.565 on scale of zero to 10. In 2013, the country was ranked 111th with a score of 4.772. For other South Asian countries, Pakistan has maintained its position at 81 with a score of 5.194 out of 10 while Bangladesh is at 109th spot with a score of 4.694. Nepal grabbed 121st position with a score of 4.514 while Sri Lanka is at 132nd spot in the rankings that is led by Switzerland and followed by Iceland and Denmark to fill the top three positions. "As the science of happiness advances, we are getting to the heart of what factors define quality of life for citizens. We are encouraged that more and more governments around the world are responding with policies that put well-being first," explained lead author professor John F Helliwell from the University of British Columbia and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. "Countries with strong social and institutional capital not only support greater well-being, but are more resilient to social and economic crises," he added. On a scale running from 0 to 10, people in over 150 countries, surveyed by Gallup over the period 2012-15, reveal an average score of 5.1 (out of 10). Six key variables explain three-quarters of the variation in annual national average scores over time and among countries.