Bahrain has every reason to smile as it has been ranked as the happiest country in the GCC and the Arab region.
The country has jumped to number 21 in the World Happiness Report 2022 out of 146 countries – up 14 spots from last year when it was ranked 35.
It is followed by the UAE at 24, Saudi Arabia at 25, Kuwait at 50, Libya at 86 and Algeria at 96. Oman and Qatar have not been featured in the report.
The World Happiness Report is a publication of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), powered by data from the Gallup World Poll and Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
The SDSN initiative, launched in 2012, operates under the auspices of the UN to mobilise scientific and technical expertise in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The report was launched as the world marks International Day of Happiness tomorrow. For the fifth year in a row, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world, with Denmark coming in second, followed by Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
The saddest country was Afghanistan, ranked bottom at 146, with Lebanon at 145 and Zimbabwe at 144.
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Bahrain has been ranked 21 in the report
The report focused on three areas this year: Looking back; looking at how people and countries are doing in the face of Covid-19; and looking ahead to how the science of well-being is likely to evolve in the future.
The 2021 data confirms the 2020 finding that average life evaluations, reflecting the net effects of offsetting negative and positive influences, have remained remarkably resilient during Covid-19.
For the young, life satisfaction has fallen, while for those over 60, it has risen – with little overall change.
Worry and stress have risen – by 8pc in 2020 and 4pc in 2021 compared with pre-pandemic levels. On the positive side, the findings reveal that the most remarkable change seen during Covid-19 has been the global upsurge in benevolence in 2021.
This has provided notable support for the life evaluations of givers, receivers and observers, who have been gratified to see their community’s readiness to reach out to help each other in times of need.
In every global region, there have been large increases in the proportion of people who give money to charity, help strangers, and do voluntary work.
Altogether the global average of these three measures was up by a quarter in 2021, compared with before the pandemic.
“Covid-19 has demonstrated the crucial importance of trust for human well-being,” cited the report.
“Deaths from Covid-19 during 2020 and 2021 have been markedly lower in those countries with higher trust in public institutions and where inequality is lower.”
The report also highlights positivity and looking forward. “For the future, the prospects for happiness will depend on a whole range of factors, including the course of the pandemic and the scale of military conflict. But an important contribution will come from improvements in the science of happiness,” the report said.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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