Letters | Why India is both world’s happiest place and No 118 behind Ukraine

Readers discuss the widely varying results of different global happiness surveys, Duterte’s arrest by the ICC, and waste reduction at the Hong Kong Sevens

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People enjoy the sunset along the Marine Drive promenade, one of the famous sunset spots near the Arabian Sea shore in Mumbai, India, on March 17. This year’s World Happiness Report places India at 118, behind Iran at 99, Palestine at 108 and Ukraine at 111. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:30am, 7 Apr 2025

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Every year, the World Happiness Report seems to deliver rankings that leave some scratching their heads. This year, the findings are downright mind-boggling.

India, for example, is ranked below Ukraine and Palestine. These war-ravaged places are supposedly happier than a stable, growing economy like India? The absurdity is enough to make one do a double take.

This year’s rankings place Iran at 99, Palestine at 108, Ukraine at 111 and India at 118. Naturally, this raises a question: what metrics led to the conclusion that Palestine – a land currently under siege – is happier than India?

Let’s compare two indices: the World Happiness Index and the Ipsos Global Happiness Survey. The former is compiled by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network in collaboration with Gallup and a University of Oxford research centre. Ipsos, a France-based multinational firm, publishes its own happiness survey. On that index, India ranks first among 30 countries, with 88 per cent of Indians surveyed expressing some form of happiness. So, which index holds water?

The World Happiness Index also places Finland, Denmark and Iceland on top; Western nations dominate the top 20 rankings. Despite an ongoing war, Israel ranks ahead of peaceful nations like Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.