By Shashi P.B.B. Malla  The recent World Happiness Report 2023 shows that Nepal is the happiest country in the region South Asia. The country rankings this year are based on life evaluations in 2020, 2021, and 2022 and therefore all of the observations are drawn from the years of high infection and deaths from Covid-19 (Nepal Live Today). Since 2002, the World Happiness Report has used statistical analysis to determine the world’s happiest countries. Researchers analyzed comprehensive Gallup polling data from 149 countries for the past three years, specifically monitoring performance in six particular categories:
  • Gross domestic product per capita
  • Social support
  • Healthy life expectancy
  • Freedom to make your own life choices
  • Generosity of the general population, and
  • Perceptions of internal and external levels.
Northern European countries dominate the top of the happiness rankings, reflecting strong social support systems and high standards of living. Finland is ranked as the happiest country in the world, with Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel following closely behind: Ranking                                           Score
  1. Finland                                    74
  2. Denmark                                 58
  3. Iceland                                     53
  4. Sweden                                    34
  5. Israel                                        34
The least happy country in the world was Afghanistan, whose 143rd –place ranking of 1.72 can be attributed in part to a low life expectancy rate and low gross domestic product rates per capita. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will undoubtedly impact future scores in one way or another. Least happy countries were: Ranking                                            Scores
  1. Congo-Kinshasa                    3.29
  2. Sierra Leone                           3.24
  3. Lesotho                                    3.18
  4. Lebanon                                   2.70
  5. Afghanistan                             1.72
As regards South Asia, these are the world rankings and scores: Ranking                                          Scores
  1. Nepal                                     5.16
  2. Pakistan                               4.66
  3. India                                      4.05
  4. Sri Lanka                              3.90
  5. Bangladesh                           3.89
  6. Afghanistan                          1.72
 Bhutan Notable Exception The Maldives and Bhutan were excluded from the report, the latter due to a technicality. However, the report’s writers made a special effort to pay tribute to Bhutan, saying it “once again provided an inspiring example for the world about how to combine health and happiness. They made explicit use of the principles of [ the indigenous ] Gross National Happiness (GNH) in mobilizing the whole population in collaborative efforts to avoid even a single Covid-19 death in 2020, despite having strong international travel links.” This is indeed impressive. And if Gallup begins polling in Bhutan, Northern Europe’s hold on happiness may soon have intense completion! The Four Pillars of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) are:
  1. Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development
  2. Preservation and promotion of a free and resilient culture
  3. Good governance and equality before the law
  4. Ecological sustainability/ Environmental conservation.
The Nine Domains of GNH are: psychological well-being, health, time-use, education, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards. Each domain is composed of subjective (survey-based) and objective indicators. The domains weigh equally but the indicators within each domain differ by weight. As regards Nepal’s ranking in the World Happiness Report, there is a huge gap in the private and public perceptions of the state of the nation. There is little doubt that inter-personal relations in the private sector, particularly the greater family and the community are very strong. These do not spill over to the public sector. The so-called leaders with their nepotism, favourtism  and rampant corruption have degenerated public life. With every breath, the leaders promise good governance, but this is a pipe dream. Clean and effective governance cannot be realized because of the leaders’ attachment to an outdated ideology – Communism – or the abandonment of a workable or resilient one – Social Democracy. As Lenin himself postulated: What is to be done? The answer was given by Karl Marx himself: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” And thus Rajendra Lingden of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) may become the man of destiny, if he plays his cards right and is able to usher in a really new and happy Nepal. The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com