The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s World Happiness Report 2021 has revealed profound insights into global happiness levels, especially in the era of Covid-19. The report was released a day before International Happiness Day, highlighting the way people have handled the pandemic worldwide. This year’s focus on the ramifications of Covid-19 is particularly crucial.
International Happiness Day: Significance and Origin
Marking its presence on the annual calendar every 20th of March, International Happiness Day underscores the significance of joy and satisfaction in people’s day-to-day lives. The United Nations commenced celebrating this day in 2013, although the resolution for the same was passed in July 2012. The concept was first proposed by Bhutan, emphasizing the importance of national happiness over national income as far back as the 1970s. In this context, Bhutan adopted Gross National Happiness (GNH) to replace Gross National Product (GNP).
Defining Gross National Happiness
Bhutan’s 4th King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, coined the term ‘Gross National Happiness’ in 1972. This innovative proposition suggests that sustainable development should embrace a holistic approach to progress and assign equal importance to the non-economic facets of wellbeing. Contrarily, GNP refers to the total value of finished goods and services produced by a country’s citizens within a financial year, regardless of their geographical location.
The Theme for 2021
The theme for International Happiness Day in 2021 was “Happiness For All, Forever”, encapsulating the spirit of enduring, inclusive joy.
World Happiness Report: Fundamentals and Key Findings
Based on polls conducted by Gallup World Poll, the World Happiness Report ranks 149 countries according to the happiness quotient perceived by their citizens. The polls consider six variables, including Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (Purchasing Power Parity), social support, healthy life expectancy at birth, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and people’s perception of corruption. Participants are requested to rate their current lives on a 0-10 scale.
For the fourth consecutive year, Finland has been crowned as the happiest country globally. Other top performers include Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and Norway. However, Afghanistan leads on the opposite end as the unhappiest nation, followed by Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Botswana, and Lesotho.
India’s Position in World Happiness Report
In the ranking of 149 countries evaluated, India secured the 139th position, an improvement from 144 in 2020’s list of 156 countries.
The Sustainable Development Network Solution
Established in 2012 under the United Nations Secretary General’s auspices, The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) aims to promote practical problem-solving for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement using global scientific and technological expertise. The SDSN has been collaborating with Bertelsmann Stiftung to publish the annual SDG Index & Dashboards Global Report since 2016.