Bangladesh ranks 108th out of 156 countries in the global happiness ranking list ahead of its neighbour India (111), showing that Bangladeshis are happier than Indians.
This interesting fact came out in the second annual The World Happiness Report 2013 released by the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
In Saarc countries, Pakistan ranked 81 in the happiness index while Nepal 135, Sri Lanka 137, and Afghanistan 143.
The report published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network found that the happiest people in the world live in Northern Europe.
Denmark is the happiest country in the world, with its relatively close neighbours: Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden making up the top five.
The other top-10 countries also include: Canada (6th), Finland (7th), Austria (8th), Iceland (9th) and Australia (10th). At the bottom of the happiness table was Togo, while other African countries making up the lowest five positions with Benin (155th), Central African Republic (154th), Burundi (153rd) and Rwanda (152nd).
The report showed that the key to living a happy life include living in a country with a high real GDP per capita, good life expectancy, having someone to depend on, freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption and generosity.
The UN report also showed that mental illness is a major factor in creating misery. According to the report, 10 percent of the entire population suffers from some form of depression or anxiety, but fewer than one-third of the population seek treatment. Even then, the report states that governments do not spend that much to address this problem.
Source: UNBConnect
