Pinas, ranks low in UN ‘happiest countries’
The news that the Philippines was no longer in the United Nations (UN) list of happiest countries gave the mouth of many Pinoys a bitter taste.
It was reported that the Philippines landed at 103, falling below Iraq and Nigeria, according to GMA News.
Of the 156 countries ranked by the UN using the “Cantril Ladder,” the Philippines placed in the bottom half of the first World Happiness Report.
According to the research consultancy firm Gallup, the “Cantril Self-Anchoring Scale” measures well-being. The system was developed by social researcher Dr. Hadley Cantril.
The UN said: “The specific data we use are drawn from the Gallup World Poll, the World Values Survey (WVS), the European Values Survey (EVS), and the European Social Survey.”
In the “happiness” race, the Philippines was behind Namibia (97th place), Iraq (98th place), and Nigeria (100th place). The Philippines also lagged behind other Asian countries, such as: Japan (44th place); Taiwan (46th place); Malaysia (51st place); Thailand (52nd place); South Korea (56th place); Vietnam (65th place); and Hong Kong (57th place).
Interestingly, the UN’s “Happiness Index per Country,” using another type of measurement—the combined WVS/EVS—the Philippines placed 28th, close to well-developed countries such as the United States (23rd place) and Canada (24th place), GMA News reported.
According to the UN, “The reasons for difference relate to answer scales (binary for the Gallup happiness vs. a four-point scale for the WVS/EVS happiness question).”
The UN study based its ranking on “external factors” it considered to affect happiness: income, work, community and governance, and values and religion.
CNN also published online the list of happiest and saddest countries with their scores in parenthesis (from the Happy Planet Index, New Economics Foundation).
Happiest countries:
1. Costa Rica (64.0) 2. Vietnam (60.4) 3. Colombia (59.8) 4. Belize (59.3) 5. El Salvador (58.9) 6. Jamaica (58.5) 7. Panama (57.8) 8. Nicaragua (57.1) 9. Venezuela (56.9) 10. Guatemala (56.9) 11. Bangladesh (56.3) 12. Cuba (56.2) 13. Honduras (56.0) 14. Indonesia (55.5) 15. Israel (55.2) 16. Pakistan (54.1) 17. Argentina (54.1) 18. Albania (54.1) 19. Chile (53.9) 20. Thailand (53.5)
Saddest countries:
132. Benin (31.1) 133. Tanzania (30.7) 134. Democratic Republic of the Congo (30.5) 135. Burundi (30.5) 136. Trinidad and Tobago (30.3) 137. Guinea (30.0) 138. Luxembourg (29.0) 139. Sierra Leone (28.8) 140. Macedonia (28.3) 141. Togo (28.2) 142. South Africa (28.2) 143. Kuwait (27.1) 144. Niger (26.8) 145. Mongolia (26.8) 146. Bahrain (26.6) 147. Mali (26.0) 148. Central African Republic (25.3) 149. Qatar (25.2) 150. Chad (24.7) 151. Botswana (22.6)