WORLD HAPPINESS REPORT 2024 (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Social Issue)

Context: Recently, on the International Day of Happiness, the 2024 World Happiness Report has been released.

World Happiness Report 2024

• About: It is a collaborative effort between Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board.
• Objective: It reflects a global shift towards prioritizing happiness and well-being as essential factors in shaping government policies.
• Comprehensive Global Assessment: The report reviews the current state of happiness worldwide, offering insights into personal and national variations in happiness through the lens of happiness science.
• 6 Factors: Income, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on in times of trouble, generosity, freedom and trust, with the latter measured by the absence of corruption in business and government.”

Highlights of Report

• Consistent Ranking: India retains its position at 126 in the happiness index, unchanged from the previous year.
• Global Participation: Experts utilize data from over 140 countries to assess and rank the world's 'happiest' nations.
• Notable Improvements in Life Evaluations: Serbia and Bulgaria: Serbia (37th) and Bulgaria (81st) exhibit the most significant increases in life evaluation scores since 2013, leading to notable climbs in the rankings.
• Prominent Rank Climbs: Latvia and Congo (Brazzaville): Latvia (46th) and Congo (Brazzaville) (89th) experience substantial rank increases of 44 and 40 places, respectively, between 2013 and 2024.
• Shifts in Major Nations' Happiness: The United States (23rd) falls out of the top 20 for the first time, attributed to a considerable decline in the wellbeing of Americans under 30.
• Persisting Unhappiness: Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the overall rankings, retaining its position as the world's 'unhappiest' nation.