Happiest citizens: Pinoys rank 5th

The Philippines is among the happiest countries in the world based on the results of a global survey ranking countries in terms of positivity, which was released on the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness last Friday.

After researchers of performance-management consulting firm Gallup surveyed adults in 143 countries in 2014, they compiled a Positive Experience Index that showed the Philippines as the fifth country in the world with the highest Positive Experience Index Score. The country got a score of 80.

Paraguay topped the survey with a score of 89. In second place are Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala which all got a score of 84.

Honduras, Panama and Venezuela are third on the list with a score of 82, while Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua got 81.

The index score of the world is 71.

Researchers of Gallup interviewed 1,000 adults aged 15 and older in each country to reflect on their overall state the day before the survey.

In particular, respondents were asked if they had experienced positive feelings of respect, laughter and enlightenment. Did they feel well rested? Were they treated with respect? Did they smile or laugh a lot? Did they learn something interesting? These are the things that make life worth living but which the GDP does not measure.

Researchers compiled the “yes” answers into a Positive Experience Index.

Gallup found that globally, 70 percent of respondents had experienced enjoyment and felt well rested and respected, while 50 percent learned or did something interesting the day before the survey.

Like many surveys before it, the results support the theory that a higher GDP doesn’t equate with higher levels of life satisfaction.

In other words, money can’t buy happiness.

While Guatamela, for instance, ranks 118th in terms of nominal GDP per capita and is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is tied in second place on Gallup’s positivity index.

“There is much to be learned from Latin America on this International Day of Happiness because while they aren’t the wealthiest people in the world, they are certainly among the happiest,” reads the report.

Another country to stand out in the survey is Afghanistan, where majority of respondents said they smiled or laughed the day before the survey, despite living in conflict and war-torn conditions. This is the most surprising finding.

At the end of the spectrum, the Middle East and North Africa are the unhappiest on the list, with Sudan, Tunisia and Bangladesh scoring the lowest points.

The UN’s International day of Happiness is meant to reinforce the importance of happiness and wellbeing as universal goals and make them part of public policy objectives. – AFP