Armenians Happier Than Their Neighbors, Report Says
The "World Happiness Report" places Armenia 89th among 147 countries. The final score and ranking in the list is determined using six main factors: social support, GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
In Armenia, social support stands at 81.8%, GDP per capita is $20,414, healthy life expectancy is 64 years, freedom is at 80.3%, generosity is at 10.7%, and perceptions of corruption stand at 71.9%.
Among neighboring countries, Azerbaijan is ranked 102nd, Iran 97th, Turkey 94th, and Georgia 91st. Finland has been recognized as the happiest country for the 9th consecutive year. Iceland ranks second and Denmark third. The top ten happiest countries also include Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
The United States ranks 23rd, while Russia occupies the 79th position this year. Afghanistan is noted as the least happy country. Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Yemen, and Lebanon also feature in the list of countries with the worst indicators.
The report indicates that positive emotions continue to be twice as prevalent as negative ones; however, negative feelings are also becoming more widespread across all regions of the world. It states that in North America and Western Europe, young people are significantly less happy than they were 15 years ago, while the use of social media has increased substantially during this period. The report highlights a connection between active social media use and higher levels of depression and stress. It concludes that active users of social media are at risk, particularly in English-speaking countries and Western Europe.
The "World Happiness Report" uses six primary factors to explain the differences in happiness among various countries: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. The report's release coincides with the International Day of Happiness, celebrated on March 20th.