Rome, Italy: The World Happiness Report tells us that Finland, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands and Israel are among the happiest countries in the world, while Palestine, which has been the target of Israeli terrorism for decades, is ranked 99th.
Every year the UN-backed organization publishes a report that ranks countries on the basis of “happiness”. But critics have pointed out inconsistencies and biases in its methodology, claiming that the ranking system appears biased towards rich Western nations, ignoring centuries of colonial exploitation in which others The wealth of the countries was looted and taken to their own countries.
Most of the most prosperous countries in 2023 are in Europe. For example, Finland ranks as the most prosperous country in the world and has been for the past six years. But this hides the fact that citizens of this country use the most anti-depressants compared to other European countries. The same is true for Iceland, which ranks second, and Sweden, which ranks sixth.
Meanwhile, the least prosperous country in the World Happiness Report is India, which ranks 126th. Another competing report, known as the Global Happiness Report, ranked China as the happiest country in the world based on balance between work and daily routines.
Similarly, in the United Nations World Happiness Report, per capita GDP of countries is the most important factor in determining overall prosperity, but the fact is that this GDP does not take into account income inequality among citizens. It does not tell us who gets the wealth of the country and who does not, nor does it tell us how much of that wealth is in the hands of a few. The United States, ranked 15th in prosperity, has significantly more income inequality than any other developed country.
Gallup’s website, on the other hand, claims that it surveys a country’s entire urban population and non-institutionalized adult population for the data in the Prosperity Report, but does not include the population in prisons, nursing homes and seniors. They live in institutions like centers. Also, researchers do not survey citizens in areas where they believe it is not appropriate to survey them because of a risk.
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