Arti Gercek reports that Finland once again took the lead in the list of the happiest countries in the world. In the Global Happiness report published for 10 years, Finland ranked first for the sixth time in a row, while Turkey fell to 106th place among 137 countries.
The report prepared for the March 20 World Happiness Day announced by a UN resolution considers individuals’ degree of satisfaction with their own lives, cooperation, social support, philanthropy, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make their own decisions, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), corruption, freedom allowed by the government, and state effectiveness.
In the research covering the years 2000 to 2022, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the happiness of individuals were also examined. The results revealed that there was no significant change in people’s perception of happiness despite the pandemic, and the global averages did not decrease compared to the 2017-2019 period.
Finland was followed by Denmark, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and New Zealand, according to the report, which uses Gallop’s poll results. Germany fell two places compared to the previous report and ranked 16th.
RAPID REGRESSION AFTER 2019
According to DW Turkish, Turkey’s rapid decline in happiness persisted in this year’s report. While Turkey was 79th in 2019, it fell to 93rd in 2020, 104th in 2021, and ranked 106th in the latest report. The report noted that 2022 data on Turkey could not be obtained yet, and the evaluation was made based on survey results from 2020 and 2021. Afghanistan was the unhappiest country in the world in this year’s ranking, which included 137 countries. Lebanon and Sierra Leone followed Afghanistan.
State effectiveness was included among the factors that affect the perception of happiness of individuals. Whether the country was engaged in war or an armed conflict and whether an oppressive environment existed in the country, in addition to the state’s financial capacity, its ability to provide services, and the rule of law were factored into the report.
OPPRESSIVE POLITICAL TENDENCIES
In the section reserved for the discussion of oppressive state practices, Turkey’s name was mentioned together with Brazil, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand, and Venezuela. The section stated that political pressure had increased in these countries. The report, which pointed out that the tendency of states to resort to oppressive practices has been on the rise since 2006, also noted that ten percent of analyzed countries are trying to liquidate the opposition, which weakens democracy.
Source: Gerçek News
