World Happiness Index: India ranks dismal 144, Pakistan at 66; Finland tops again

India was ranked at a dismal 144 as the United Nations on Friday released its World Happiness Report on Friday. A total of 156 nations were surveyed.

India scored 3.573 points, ranking lower than Pakistan which secured 5.693 points, ranking 66 out of all the countries surveyed. 

In the 2019 happiness index, India ranked 140, slipping 4 positions compared to last year. Meanwhile, Pakistan gained a position in the ranking, compared to last year's report.   

Finland secured the first rank, rated as high as 7.809 points for the third consecutive year. The country was followed closely by Denmark (7.646) and Switzerland (7.560), ranked at no 2 and 3 spots respectively. Iceland and Norway secured the fourth and fifth ranks respectively.

"The happiest countries are those 'where people feel a sense of belonging', where they trust and enjoy each other and their shared institutions. There is also more resilience, because shared trust reduces the burden of hardships, and thereby lessens the inequality of well-being." John Helliwell, one of the authors of the report said in a statement.

The data used in the making of this report was collected in the year 2018 and 2019. The indicators used by researchers to make the happiness index includes GDP, social support, personal freedom and levels of corruption apart from the person's personal level of happiness.

It must be noted that in the making of the report, the impact of the coronavirus outbreak has not been taken into account. The experts predict that the places under lockdown due to the pandemic could fare well in the happiness index.

"The most frequent explanation seems to be that people are pleasantly surprised by the willingness of their neighbors and their institutions to work in harness to help each other," the team noted on the report's website.