Haiti and Jamaica are the least happy Caribbean countries in the world, according to the latest World Happiness report released by the United Nations on Wednesday.
The 2018 report assessed 156 countries’ happiness levels based on six factors – per capita gross domestic product, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, social support and absence of corruption in government or business.
In the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations, Haiti is the unhappiest country, ranking 148, followed by Jamaica, which was in the 56th position. Belize was in position 49. Trinidad and Tobago, however, emerged as the Caribbean nation on earth, ranking 38th among 156 countries.
In Africa, people of Burundi are unhappiest with their lives, followed by Central African Republic (155), South Sudan (154), Tanzania (153) and Yemen (152). On the global stage, Finland is now the happiest country in the world, displacing Norway which topped the index in 2017.
The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey that reviews the state of happiness in the world and it is aimed at influencing government policy. This is the sixth World Happiness Report. According to the UN, the overall rankings from the report has been based on pooled results from Gallup World Poll surveys from 2015-2017. For the first time, the UN also examined the happiness levels of immigrants in each country, with Finland also scoring the highest.
