World Happiness Report 2018: Pakistan Jumps 5 Places to 75 Among 156 Nations

Pakistanis are happier than all of their neighbors, according to the World Happiness Report 2018. Pakistan rose from 80th place in 2017 to 75th place this year while all of its neighbors slid from last year's happiness rankings.

Comparison With Neighbors:

Bangladesh dropped 5 spots to 115 while India slid 11 places to 133 among 156 nations ranked.  China (86), Bhutan (97), Iran (106), Bangladesh (115), and Sri Lanka (116), India (133) and Afghanistan (145) all fared worse than Pakistan (75).

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s (SDSN) 2018 World Happiness Report has ranked 156 countries based on criteria including per capita income, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.

The top of the happiness list is dominated by Western Europeans and North Americans while the bottom-ranked nations are mainly from sub-Saharan Africa.

Foreign-Born Residents:

The report ranks nations by happiness of immigrants in over 100 countries. Of the 12 countries with populations exceeding 100 million, only three have foreign-born population shares exceeding 1% – Japan at 1.7%, Pakistan at 1.9% and the United States at 15%.  United States ranks 15th, Japan 25th, Pakistan 75th and India 91st among 117 nations on this list.

In the typical country, immigrants are about as happy as people born locally. (The difference is under 0.1 point out of 10). This is shown in Figure 1.2. However the figure also shows that in the happiest countries immigrants are significantly less happy than locals, while the reverse is true in the least happy countries. This is because of the second finding.

Changes in Pakistan: 

What accounts for Pakistan's improved happiness ranking this year over last year? The report doesn't answer this question. However, given the measurement criteria, it is likely a combination of accelerating income growth and significantly improved security.

Karachi, one of world's fastest growing megacities, has seen its crime index ranking improve dramatically from 6 in 2013 to 50 in 2017, according to a survey of 327 world cities conducted by Numbeo.  Karachi was ranked 47 in 2016.  Reduction in violence is helping revive Pakistan's economy, making it the third fastest growing trillion dollar economy among the top 25 world economies by purchasing power parity.

Comparison to Major Cities:

Creek Vista, Karachi, Pakistan
In South Asia region, Karachi, now ranked 50, is safer than Bangladeshi capital Dhaka ranked 18 and the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon ranked 40.  Delhi is ranked 60, Lahore 138, Mumbai 160 and Islamabad 226.

Karachi is also safer than American cities of Detroit, MI (17),  Baltimore, MD (20), New Orleans, LA (21), Albuquerque, NM (27), St. Louis, MO (30) Oakland, CA (33) and Milwaukee, WI (46).

The year 2013 marked the beginning of the deployment of Pakistan Rangers in Karachi to fight rampant extortion, terrorism and violence by armed gangs patronized by some political parties.  Evidence suggests that some of the politicians involved had links to Indian intelligence.

Impact on National Economy: 

Reduction in violence in Karachi is helping revive Pakistan's economy, making it the third fastest growing trillion dollar economy among the top 25 world economies by purchasing power parity.

In a recent article titled "Pakistan Keeps Terrorists on the Run and Economy on a Roll", leading Japanese publication Nikkei Asia Review reported from Karachi that the negative perception of "terrorism, corruption, misrule" are "becoming  outdated, and businesses are taking notice... thanks to sweeping operations by the army and a powerful paramilitary force".  Here's a more extended excerpt of the Nikkei story:

"The Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary law enforcement organization overseen by the military and the Interior Ministry, set out to tackle the violence head-on. In 2013, the Rangers Sindh -- which operate in Sindh Province, including Karachi -- mobilized 15,000 troops. The provincial legislature granted them broad powers to search homes and make arrests, enabling them to quickly turn the tide. In 2017, there were zero bombings and only five kidnappings, according to Saeed, who serves as director general of the Rangers Sindh. This is no small feat in a city with a swelling population of 17 million -- perhaps even 20 million if migrants from rural areas are factored in. "We destroyed all of the terrorists' pockets," he said, adding that hotel occupancy rates are over 90%."

Summary: 

Pakistanis are happier than all of their neighbors, according to the World Happiness Report 2018. Pakistan rose from 80th place in 2017 to 75th place this year while all of its neighbors slid from last year's happiness rankings.

What accounts for Pakistan's improved happiness ranking this year over last year? The report doesn't answer this question. However, given the measurement criteria, it is likely a combination of accelerating income growth and significantly improved security.

Karachi, one of world's fastest growing megacities, has seen its crime index ranking improve dramatically from 6 in 2013 to 50 in 2017, according to a survey of 327 world cities conducted by Numbeo.  Last year, Karachi was ranked 47. Reduction in violence is helping revive Pakistan's economy, making it the third fastest growing trillion dollar economy among the top 25 world economies by purchasing power parity.  As the country's largest city and its financial capital and economic hub, a safe and healthy Karachi bodes well for Pakistan's future. The Pakistani military has played a crucial role in securing the nation's future by bringing peace to Karachi.

Here's a video of a Karachi mall:

https://youtu.be/KeKmj28m2-c



Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Pakistanis Happier Than Neighbors

Karachi Safety Ranking Rising

Gangs of Karachi

Gangster Politicians of Karachi

Karachi is World's Fastest Growing Megacity

Karachi's Human Development Index

Pakistan Rising or Failing: Reality vs Perception

Pakistan's Trillion Dollar Economy Among top 25



Comments

Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan (rank 67) much happier country than India (rank 140) in 2019, says UN report. Pakistan climbs 8 places while India drops 7 places from last year | World | http://thenews.com.pk | #worldhappinessreport

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/446526-pakistan-happier-country-than-india-says-un-report

Highlights
Pakistan has once again left behind India and other South Asian nations on the list of the world’s happiest countries Pakistan has showed much improvement, going up to 67th from the 75th rank last year the report warned that world happiness has declined in recent years driven by a sustained fall in India, which this year ranked in 140th place


Pakistan has once again left behind India and other South Asian nations on the list of the world’s happiest countries, according to the United Nations report released here on Wednesday.

The United Nations published the report on the happiest countries on the eve of the International Happiness Day which is celebrated on March 20 every year.


Pakistan has showed much improvement, going up to 67th from the 75th rank last year while the report warned that world happiness has declined in recent years, driven by a sustained fall in India, which this year ranked in 140th place.


Finland ranked as the world´s happiest country for the second year running while war-torn South Sudan sank to the least contented in The Nordic nation of 5.5 million people, known for their love of forests, lakes and saunas, topped the study which used survey data asking citizens in 156 countries how happy they perceive themselves to be, as well as measures such as life expectancy, income and social support.

The other Nordic countries, as well as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand and Austria also made the top ten.


As well as performing well on all the indicators, the most content countries all tended to have very stable societies, with happiness levels changing comparatively little since 2005.

Despite the political turmoil brought by Brexit, Britain rose four places in the rankings to 15th.

The United States, meanwhile, continued its slide of recent years, dropping one spot to 19th place.

"This year´s report provides sobering evidence of how addictions are causing considerable unhappiness and depression in the US," said professor Jeffrey Sachs, one of the report´s authors.

The unhappiest nation was South Sudan, where the UN recently said 60 percent of people face food insecurity following a bloody civil war which has claimed the lives of an estimated 400,000 people.

Other conflict-ridden countries, such as Yemen, Afghanistan and the Central African Republic, also featured at the bottom of the table.

This has coincided with a rise in negative feelings, "comprising worry, sadness and anger, especially marked in Asia and Africa, and more recently elsewhere," it said.

This year´s publication also looked at how countries have performed in the happiness rankings since 2005.

Of the 20 largest gainers, half are in Central and Eastern Europe, five are in sub-Saharan Africa, and three in Latin America.

The five largest declines since 2005 were in Yemen, India, Syria, Botswana and Venezuela.


http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2019/
Riaz Haq said…
#India ranked number 5 among the world's top 20 most #dangerous countries, according to InterNations's latest Expat Insider Survey, a comprehensive report on what it’s like to live and work abroad in 64 countries around the world. https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2019/09/05/20-most-dangerous-places-to-live-2019/#6c4f8d497022

1.🇧🇷 Brazil
2.🇿🇦 South Africa
3.🇳🇬 Nigeria
4.🇦🇷 Argentina
5.🇮🇳 India
6.🇵🇪 Peru
7.🇰🇪 Kenya
8.🇺🇦 Ukraine
9.🇹🇷 Turkey
10.🇨🇴 Colombia
Riaz Haq said…
India scored 80 points on the table, below its neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka with a marginal difference but was placed above the United Kingdom and Bangladesh.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/these-are-5-most-and-least-secure-countries-on-gallup-s-law-and-order-index-101666841222013.html

Gallup's Law and Order Index 2022 - a report by global analytics firm Gallup -- has positioned Taliban-captured Afghanistan as the least secure country for the third year. Region-wise, the report has declared East Asia as the most secure while Southeast Asia came second to it. Gallup’s survey which takes into consideration four questions to gauge “people’s sense of personal security and their personal experiences with crime and law enforcement” said it has interviewed about 127,000 people in over 120 countries to compile the list.


The five most secure countries on Gallup’s index

Singapore 96
Tajikistan 95
Norway 93
Switzerland 92
Indonesia 92
The five least secure countries on Gallup's index

Sierra Leone 59
DR Congo 58
Venezuela 55
Gabon 54
Afghanistan 51

India scored 80 points on the table, below its neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka with a marginal difference in points but was placed above the United Kingdom and Bangladesh. As per the reports, Southeast Asia was home to the largest gains in confidence - due to contributions from Singapore and Indonesia’s improved police services.

Afghanistan which maintained the lowest score in the last two surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019 too (survey was not conducted in 2020 due to pandemic) - improved its score relatively due to a drop in violence following the end of the Taliban’s insurgency as it had completed the takeover from US troops. The report also said that North America and Western Europe have lost ground mainly due to people’s falling confidence in the police, especially after the high-profile police shootings including the killing of George Floyd which sparked a racial injustice movement.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/403937/global-progress-safety-confidence-police-stalls.aspx

Riaz Haq said…
Survey ranks India 5th most dangerous country to live in the world: Top factors that weighed down ranking
Among the top findings of the survey are that India comes in the top 10 countries for personal finance, expats with full-time jobs in India work 3.8 hours per week more than the global average, and 83% of respondents rate the quality of the environmentally negatively.

https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/survey-ranks-india-5th-most-dangerous-country-to-live-in-the-world-top-factors-that-weighed-down-ranking/1698399/

India has been ranked as the fifth most dangerous country in the world for expats. In a survey — Expat Insider 2019 — that covered and interviewed people who live and work abroad, India has been placed at 60 of 64 countries on safety and security. According to the survey which was conducted by InterNations, over four men in ten respondents reported negative feelings about the peacefulness in the country and 27% were displeased with their personal safety — three times the global average of 9%.

“A US American expat, for example, does not like “always having to keep my guard up — as a female, I don’t feel safe. As a resident, I often feel taken advantage of at work and outside work,” the survey said.

The expats also rated negatively to the question of political stability in India. “Almost double the global average (32% vs 17% worldwide) rate the political stability of the country negatively. An Australian expat shares that ‘politics has become hardline, and there are social tensions’,” the survey found.

Riaz Haq said…
The World Happiness Report 2023 has been published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/20-Mar-2023/where-does-pakistan-stand-in-world-happiness-report-2023

According to the report, Pakistan is at number 103 on the happiness index, climbing 18 spots as compared to the previous list in which the South Asian nation was ranked at 121.

Meanwhile, neighbouring India ranked lowest in Asia as Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ranked above the second most populated nation.

Some of the parameters used for assessment include the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in terms of Purchasing Power Parity, generosity, people’s perception of corruption and freedom, social support, health and life expectancy at birth.

Report finds that stressful jobs, sheer competition, family issues, health complications, inflation and several other factors cost us our happiness.

------------

Top Happiest Nations in the world
Finland
Denmark
Iceland
Israel
Netherlands
Sweden
Norway
Switzerland
Luxembourg
New Zealand
Austria
Australia
Canada
Ireland
United States
Germany
Belgium
Czech Republic
United Kingdom
Lithuania

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