From ASTV, the Manager

April 24, 2015 14:40

AGENCY – Switzerland, the land of watches and chocolate has been dubbed the country with the happiest standard of living in the world according to the “World Happiness 2015” report. The report was researched by the Sustainable Developments Solutions Network (SDSN), a branch of the United Nations. Thailand was ranked 34^th and Singapore 24^th, making them the highest ranking ASEAN nations on the list.

Jeffrey Sachs, one of the researchers and the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, said that the first 13 countries on the list were no different from those of the previous year but merely shifted places with one another. This, he felt, demonstrated that a countries happiness did not depend solely on a stable economy but also on the availability of social support and the integrity of the government.

The United States ranked 15^th on the list behind Israel (11) and Mexico (14) while England was 21^st followed by France (29) and Germany (26).

Japan and South Korea ranked 46^th and 47^th respectively while Russia placed 64^th. The large nation of China was 84^th on the list.

The ten countries that were ranked lowest in terms of happiness were Afghanistan, Syria, Togo, Burundi, Benin, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Chad.

Interesting to note is that though Iraq faced war, its citizens still felt happy, placing it at 112^th, higher than South Africa (113), India (117), Kenya (125) and Bulgaria (134).

Singapore was ranked 24^th, highest in the ASEAN region, followed by Thailand (34), Malaysia (61), Indonesia (74), Vietnam (75), Philippines (90), Laos (99), Myanmar (129), and Cambodia (145).  

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